Rocket Lab launches new constellation-class star tracker

24/7 Space News

Rocket Lab launches new constellation-class star tracker

illustration only

Rocket Lab launches new constellation-class star tracker
by Staff Writers
Long Beach CA (SPX) Apr 14, 2023

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) reports that a new class of star tracker, the ST-16HV, is now available for commercial use, expanding the Company's Space Systems catalogue of products for the global satellite market.

The new ST-16HV star tracker is an attitude determination sensor based on Rocket Lab's existing high-performance ST-16RT2 star tracker that has been evolved for mass manufacturing. The change results in a more affordable star tracker that is mass producible to meet the short lead time needs of both commercial and government satellite constellation projects.

By using the same electronics and electrical interface and much of the same mechanical design as the heritage star tracker, the ST-16HV can be used in its place as a responsive small satellite solution, especially for satellites and constellations in low Earth orbit.

"Rocket Lab's Space Systems Division has made tremendous strides in developing new technology and products and the new ST-16HV star tracker is the latest to join a long list of reliable and trusted space components," said Brad Clevenger, Vice President, Space Systems. "This new mass-produced star tracker will be a game changer in fulfilling the growing demand from satellite constellation customers and will be made at the Sinclair by Rocket Lab facility where we already mass produce reaction wheels."

The ST-16HV star tracker is the latest new satellite component announced in 2023, after the Frontier-X satellite radio and constellation-class 12Nms reaction wheel assembly were released in February.

The ST-16HV star tracker joins the Company's existing heritage space systems components including reaction wheels, separation systems, radios, flight software, ground software, and solar power solutions. Rocket Lab has more than 100 star trackers on orbit, including on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Mandrake 1 and Mandrake 2 satellites and Rocket Lab's in-house designed and built Lunar Photon spacecraft which supported NASA's Artemis program that delivered the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) CubeSat to orbit the Moon.

Related Links
Rocket Lab
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters

RELATED CONTENT

The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.

Improving the accuracy of orbit prediction and position error covariance prediction
Beijing, China (SPX) Apr 04, 2023
With continuous developments in the space industry, the space near the earth was occupied by a variety of spacecraft whose number is increasing dramatically every year. To avoid a collision, huge computation power was spent to determine the possibility of a collision between two space objects. However, there were various uncertainties in the collision prediction process, which aggravated the burdens on space safety management. Since the collision probability was usually applied to evaluate the dangerous ... read more

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Rocket Lab launches new constellation-class star tracker

Humans need Earth-like ecosystem for deep-space living

Russia will use International Space Station 'until 2028'

NASA Boosts Open Science through Innovative Training

Orbit Fab closes Series A funding for $28.5 Million

SpaceX Cargo Dragon undocks from ISS, heads back to Earth

China bans ships from area north of Taiwan Sunday due to 'falling rocket wreckage'

China's 3D printed afterburning liquid rocket engine tested during recent mission

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completes 50th flight

Slip and Pivot: Sol 3797

NASA unveils 'Mars' habitat for year-long experiments on Earth

Curiosity software upgrade complete: Sol 3796

China rocket launch sends debris into sea near Taiwan: Taipei authorities

China and Brazil to expand cooperation in space development

China's inland space launch site advances commercial services

China's Shenzhou XV astronauts complete 3rd spacewalk

Nova Space to offer Space Professional Development Program for AWS Employees

HawkEye 360's latest Cluster 7 satellites successfully launched

Inside the "space factory"

Slingshot Aerospace expands network to optically track LEO satellites

Seeking Innovative Concepts for Next-Generation Antennas

VERTIGO concludes with telecom data transmission on a laser link at record high power

Google selects SpaceChain into its Startups Program

Momentus launches Vigoride-6 OSV on SpaceX Transporter-7 Mission

Do Earth-like exoplanets have magnetic fields

New paper investigates exoplanet climates

JWST confirms giant planet atmospheres vary widely

Planet hunting and the origins of life

Europe's Jupiter probe launched

Europe's JUICE mission blasts off towards Jupiter's icy moons

Spotlight on Ganymede, Juice's primary target

Search for alien life extends to Jupiter's icy moons

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters

ADVERTISEMENT

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2023 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.