Recent analyses for the Applications TechnologySatellite have demonstrated that a gravityoriented system can be rapidly stabilized with a pivoted oscillatory damping mechanism that increases the damping torque at increasing angles of oscillation. Techniques have been developed for producing a simple magnetic hysteresis damper with such variation in-the damping torque. This control of the hysteresis torque was made practical by the development of a magnetic circuit that produces a rapid reversal of damping torque on reversal of the direction of oscillation. Such capability also allows a large angular rate of change in hysteresis torque to be used in producing the damping characteristics required for a particular gravity-oriented satellite. Procedures and principles are formulated for using these techniques to produce a specified program of torque variation. As much as 20 to 1 variation in hysteresis torque has been produced in development models of the damper.

Sun sensors are commonly employed to determine the attitude of a spacecraft by defining the unit sun vector, which points from the center of the spacecraft's local reference frame toward the center of the sun. That information can then be used to satisfy the pointing requirements of an attitude control system, such as the one to be implemented on the SpudNik-1 CubeSat; this system requires knowledge of attitude to within 0.13 degrees, making high-accuracy sun sensors a necessity. However, like most off-the-shelf space hardware, commercially available high-accuracy sun sensors are expensive, making it difficult for teams working on space projects to both meet their pointing requirements and comply with their financial constraints.