Attitude Control & Pointing
Daylight vs Eclipse Response
Observe how attitude control behaviour changes between sunlit and eclipse phases of an orbit.
- Time estimate
- 30–35 min
- Complexity
- advanced
- Maturity
- pilot ready
- Simulator readiness
- implemented
- Software available now
- Available now in one-axis simulator — `daylight_vs_eclipse_response`; eclipse is a modeled mission context for teaching, not orbital illumination physics.
Student path
- Toggle between daylight and eclipse phase and read the telemetry comparison.
- Note the battery trend and control budget change between phases.
- Identify one telemetry difference that proves the system behaved differently.
- Copy/export your evidence as the final Track 5 evidence artefact.
Learning outcomes
Student can explain why eclipse changes power availability for control and what the system must do differently.
- Identify when battery starts discharging in the telemetry trace.
- Explain what the system should do to conserve power during eclipse.
- State the risk of high control effort during eclipse.
Concept primer
Observe how attitude control behaviour changes between sunlit and eclipse phases of an orbit.
Run daylight_vs_eclipse_response experiment; compare battery margin and control effort between phases.
Draw a timeline of one orbit annotated with power availability and control mode.
Interactive lab
Teaching-grade software activity slot — not a flight simulator or certified propagator.
Daylight vs eclipse lab
How does orbit phase affect ADCS telemetry?
Solar panels
Generating
Battery trend
Stable / charging
Control budget
Full control authority
Wheel effort
Medium wheel effort
Daylight — solar panels generating. Full control authority available.
Local self-check
Assessment (practice only)
Use this as a self-check and discussion starter. It is local-only and not a grade.
Optional: attaches a local summary (completed / quick checks / checklist count).
Quick check
Multiple choice self-check
This is a local self-check to support discussion. It is not a grade.
Quick check: During eclipse, why might operators limit aggressive ADCS manoeuvres?
Discussion prompt
Short answer (local only)
Write notes for yourself or your group. Nothing is submitted.
Reflection: Looking at your daylight vs eclipse evidence, state one telemetry difference that proves the system behaved differently under the two conditions.
Checklist
Local checklist self-check
Use this to verify you covered key ideas. Nothing is submitted.
Self-check:
0 / 3 checked
Local summary
Assessment summary (practice only)
Completion
0 / 3 sections complete
Quick checks
0 / 1 correct
Shown only to support self-check.
Checklist
0 / 3 items checked
Reminder
Local-only practice summary. Not a grade and not submitted anywhere.
What this preview is / is not
Assessment engine v0 boundary note
- Student view (local practice): use this as a self-check and discussion starter.
- Local-only preview/practice: your answers are not submitted.
- No backend, no accounts, no roster, and no LMS integration.
- Not a grade. No credential or official scoring is implied.
- Teacher visibility into student answers is not implemented in MVPF8.
- Evidence runtime engine arrives in Phase 9 (not in this preview).
Capture
Evidence capture (local-only)
Capture what you did, what changed, what you observed, and how you explain it. This stays in your browser unless you copy/share it manually.
Selected inputs
- Orbit phase: Daylight (solar panels generating)
- Controller gain: Medium gain (balanced)
Generated outputs
- Solar available: Yes
- Battery trend: Stable / charging
- Control budget: Full control authority
- Wheel effort: Medium wheel effort
- Eclipse wheel effort note: Daylight — solar panels generating. Full control authority available.
- Evidence verdict: Pass
Checklist
Evidence checklist
0/3 checked
Evidence artifact (local-only)
Daylight vs Eclipse Response
Captured: 2026-05-16T07:38:33.388Z · Level: high_school · Track: attitude_control
Summary
Copyable class summary
Copy a readable summary for class notes, or copy JSON for a structured record. Local-only: nothing is submitted.
Evidence artifact (v1) Activity: Daylight vs Eclipse Response Track: attitude_control Learner level: high_school Captured: 2026-05-16T07:38:33.388Z Mission brief: Orbit phase: Daylight (solar panels generating). Gain: Medium gain (balanced). Selected inputs: - Orbit phase: Daylight (solar panels generating) - Controller gain: Medium gain (balanced) Generated outputs: - Solar available: Yes - Battery trend: Stable / charging - Control budget: Full control authority - Wheel effort: Medium wheel effort - Eclipse wheel effort note: Daylight — solar panels generating. Full control authority available. - Evidence verdict: Pass Checklist: - [ ] I can identify when battery starts discharging in the eclipse telemetry. - [ ] I compared daylight and eclipse control effort in the lab. - [ ] I stated one telemetry difference as evidence. Observations: (not provided) Reflection: Phase: Daylight (solar panels generating). Battery: Stable / charging. Wheel effort: Medium wheel effort. Model boundary note: Local-only teaching model — not full 3-axis flight ADCS, not a reaction-wheel safety certification, not remote hardware control, not official attitude determination software. Evidence is not submitted anywhere and is not a grade. Policy reminder: - Local-only capture. Not submitted anywhere. Not a grade.
Evidence capture
Expected outputs learners should be able to show after the lab (Phase 9 evidence engine preview available).
- Phase markers or battery trend differences daylight vs eclipse
- Control effort comparison across phases in replay
Reflection
Compare telemetry from daylight and eclipse runs; identify the key differences.
Responses are not persisted in this preview unless a specific activity component adds storage later.
Assessment / quick check
Why might operators schedule non-critical maneuvers outside eclipse if power margin is thin?
Teacher notes
Connect to energy logistics: less solar → less aggressive ADCS unless mission-critical.
Teacher use
Close the Track 5 loop by showing that evidence review is operations: looking at telemetry changes between daylight and eclipse is how operators verify the system behaved correctly. This session bridges naturally to Track 6 — Telemetry / Evidence.
Next activity
Suggested progression from the mission learning path. Links avoid missing activity routes.
Track 5 mini-course ends here — continue into the Telemetry / Evidence mini-course (Track 6).