A lateral sensor for the alignment of two formation-flying satellites

The Coarse Lateral Sensor (CLS) is a system able to measure the lateral position between two satellites. It bridges the gap between the coarse alignment accuracy achievable with radio frequency metrology or global positioning systems (GPS), and the alignment accuracy required to start higher-precision optical metrology systems based on interferometry. The system is a standalone unit. Once connected to an unregulated 28V power-supply, it delivers, the lateral position of a corner cube retro-reflector and tracks this position at a rate of 10 Hz. The system is operational with the sun in its field-of-view. The coarse lateral sensor has successfully undergone thermal qualification (40°C and -30 °C), and vibration test (highlevel sinus, random and shock test in the 3-axis).