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Loading contentThe subsystem that determines and controls which way a spacecraft points — sensing its orientation with star trackers and gyroscopes, and turning it with reaction wheels or thrusters.
A spinning gyroscope whose axis is tilted to produce large control torques efficiently — used on big, agile spacecraft such as the International Space Station and Earth-imaging satellites.
A spinning flywheel that a spacecraft speeds up or slows down to rotate itself, by conservation of angular momentum, without using any propellant — the workhorse of precise pointing.
Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
European missions, observatories, and space science imagery.