The Draper Technology Digest - Draper Laboratory

state-of-the-art components from any processtechnology (CMOS, Bipolar CMOS, gallium arsenidefield effect transistor (GaAs FET)) can be integratedalong with miniature passive components (resistors,capacitors, and inductors) to achieve a complete systemsolution [11].FUTUREThe low power, mass, and volume benefits of MEMSgyros will continue to attract technical attention and furtheradoption in the spacecraft domain. Draper’s Inertial StellarCompass validated that MEMS gyros perform exceptionallywell in the space environment. As performance continuesto improve with MEMS gyros, more spacecraft designerswill likely adopt and propose new low-cost missions,albeit with initial risk, that further validate the importanttechnology. This adoption and further flight validationwill fundamentally change and enable a new class ofmicrospacecraft and allow for new missions currently notpossible. Spacecraft designers can rely on the notion thatMEMS gyros will continue to improve in performanceand that new spacecraft application of MEMS-basedinstruments will arrive. These instruments, when coupledwith advanced packaging techniques, have the capability tobe multifunctional and highly capable, yet within a smallweight, size, and power footprint.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe author wishes to acknowledge the dedicated andtalented team at Draper Laboratory for making the InertialStellar Compass a great success.The ISC project was carried out at Draper Laboratory undera contract with the California Institute of Technology’s JetPropulsion Laboratory.36 Expanding the Spacecraft Application Base with MEMS Gyros