HYPERION’S STAR TRACKERS EMERGE AS A NEW STANDARD

AAC Clyde Space’s subsidiary AAC Hyperion continues to celebrate wins with its star trackers, that are rapidly emerging as a de facto standard for European small satellites. So far in 2021, Hyperion has received a record €0.5milion of orders for the popular products.

Star trackers were the first product in Hyperion’s portfolio, and remain one of the subsidiary’s best-selling products. With a solid flight performance in space since 2015, the products have proven their reliability and efficiency resulting in them being regarded as a gold standard product by many clients. AAC Clyde Space has used the star trackers in many of its satellites, starting before acquiring Hyperion in 2020.

Star trackers are used in satellites to determine the attitude of a spacecraft. They image the star field, comparing onboard star maps with their current view. This information is then used to determine the attitude of the spacecraft and in this way control its pointing. It is a product type which is increasingly used on commercial cube and small satellites.

Hyperion’s product line includes one of the world’s smallest and lightest star tracker that can fit on any satellite, as well as advanced star trackers to manage very complex and particularly demanding environments. Hyperion has developed its range of star tracker products in collaboration with Germany-based Berlin Space Technologies.

“To become a de facto standard is a great achievement for a space product, paving the way for future success by allowing incremental improvements in both the product’s performance as well as in its financial metrics. AAC Clyde Space is very proud to have brought these star trackers into our portfolio that already include, among others, the very successful Starbuck power systems and Sirius command and data handling units,” says AAC Clyde Space CEO Luis Gomes.