A simple, reliable, spin sensor for sounding rockets

Abstract

A simple sensor developed for use on sounding rockets is described. The device employs a solar sensor, and the sun's pulses, detected once per roll revolution, are suitably stretched for relaying to ground by telemetry and referred to a fixed voltage to obtain a precise roll datum. A number of sensors have beeen flown and are found to provide accurate roll data reliably in the sounding rocket environments.