Reaction wheels
Coverage breaks where the track curves — only the straight segment is captured.
More coverage - Single pass
Scan wider. Slew between every target.
Pyramid Mini CMG configuration gives a 500 kg class imaging satellite the torque to re-orient several degrees per second, capturing target after target without excessive wait time waiting for the spacecraft.
16 Target Acquired
97.6 ° Inclination
96 min Period
9.1 N-m Peak Torque
Same overpass · Two actuators
What the ground sees
Reaction wheels can hold a line but cannot re-point fast enough to follow the corridor. The mini-CMG keeps the sensor on terrain through the turns, stitching one continuous strip.
Pyramid Mini CMG
The sensor tracks the corridor through every turn — one unbroken multi-strip pass.
Orbit & Target Selection
A sun-synchronous polar pass over the target corridor
The reference mission demonstrates an operational orbit at an altitude of 535km. Utilizing the spacecraft dynamic context for every segment to track standard scenario targets within country.
| Orbit height | 566 km |
| Inclination | 97.6 deg |
| LTAN | 10.30 |
| Repeating ground track | ~15 orbits |
| Orbital period | 96 min |
| Sensor swath on ground | 10 km |
| Vehicle inertia | 100 kg·m² |
Attitude control solution
Same envelope. ~15× the torque.
Both actuators fit the bus. What seperates them is how hard they can push: the mini-CMG cluster delivers the torque to slew the spacecraft between targets in under a second - at a fraction of the peak power.
Recommended
Pyramid Mini CMG
4-GIMBAL CLUSTER · TORQUE-AMPLIFYING
Cluster angular momentum
8.8 / 8.8 / 9.1 N·m·s
Output torque
8.8 / 8.8 / 9.1 N·m
Cluster mass
~13 kg
Max power
~80 W
~15×
higher peak torque for agile slews
Pyramid Reaction Wheels
4-WHEEL CLUSTER · DIRECT-DRIVE
Cluster angular momentum
6.9 / 6.9 / 8.0 N·m·s
Output torque
0.5 / 0.5 / 0.6 N·m
Cluster mass
~12 kg
Max power
~800 W
~10×
lower peak power draw
THE PHYSICS BEHIND IT
Torque is only half of it
The advantage over reaction wheels comes mostly from raw torque capability — but torque alone is not enough. It has to be paired with a steering law that maps each commanded torque onto gimbal-rate commands while staying clear of singularities. A jerk-limited reference profile keeps the maneuver smooth; the VEO steering logic keeps the cluster controllable.
Want this run against your orbit?
Send us your inertia, target list and duty cycle — we'll size the cluster.