Development of a spacecraft orientation sensor in the ultraviolet and soft X-ray spectral range

One of the main units of the orientation systems of a spacecraft (SC) is the orientation module using the star map. Its operating principle consists of continuous shooting of a picture of outer space through a special lens, subsequent registration of it on a digital photodetector and subsequent search for stars in the resulting image. The SC's autonomous memory contains a star map with the stars on it. When comparing the star coordinates obtained by the orientation system with those in the memory, a corresponding command is issued to the SC's orientation corrector, if necessary. Since such orientation systems use photosensitive CCD and CMOS sensors sensitive in the optical wavelength range, equipped with high-aperture optics, they have a number of disadvantages: when the sun enters the device's field of view, the sensor is overloaded, as a result of which it ceases to function normally. Also, in the case of using low-orbit satellites and in the case of targeted counteraction from the earth's surface using high-power lasers, it is possible to lose long-term orientation due to sensor failure, even if their optical axes are not directed at the earth's surface. Therefore, the creation of spacecraft orientation sensors that are insensitive to sunlight and laser radiation is an urgent task. One of the methods for providing spacecraft orientation systems that are insensitive to parasitic solar and terrestrial radiation is the use of solar-blind sensors operating in the spectral range of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and soft X-ray radiation (SXR). This is especially relevant for modern orbital astronomical space observatories.