Speed acquisition system for reaction wheel of LAPAN-A3 Satellite using field programmable gate array module

Abstract

Reaction wheel is one of the important components in satellite attitude control by employing torque to satellite through command, resulting in the change of the angular momentum (or angular velocity) of the satellite. LAPAN-A3, the third-generation satellite built by LAPAN, utilizes three systems of reaction wheel placed on three coordinate axes. The system consists of two parts; electric motor and wheel drive electronic (WDE) to adjust the motor’s motion by reading input from control center. This research will implement the measurement of reaction wheel system by using field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as the processor. The outcome of this study is expected to obtain more accurate results and lower transient delays in acquiring the speed of wheel than that of generated input signal from PC.