Solar sensors are common satellite attitude sensors, and the growth of spacecraft launches has brought a broad demand space for them
Solar sensor, also known as sunlight sensor, is a sensor device used to detect solar radiation based on the principle of photoelectric effect and photosensitive element characteristics. The sun transmits energy outward in the form of electromagnetic waves, and solar sensors are able to accurately sense and measure the position, radiation intensity, and direction of the sun, and convert its information into electrical signal output.
The solar sensor is mainly composed of a photosensitive element, a signal processing circuit, and an interface circuit. The photosensitive element is the core device of the solar sensor, which is usually made of photoresistors, photosensitive cells, photodiodes, etc. Solar sensors are divided into coarse solar sensors, fine solar sensors, and digital solar sensors, where fine solar sensors usually consist of segmented photodiodes or photodiode arrays.
Solar sensors are widely used in astronomical observation, meteorological monitoring, aerospace, solar power generation, agricultural production, unmanned aerial vehicles, automobiles and other fields. In the aerospace field, solar sensors can be used for attitude control of air vehicles, spacecraft, and satellites to ensure their normal operation; In the field of meteorological monitoring, solar sensors can measure the intensity of solar radiation in real time and provide data for meteorological forecasting, climate research, etc.
According to the "2024-2028 China Solar Sensor Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Trend Forecast Research Report" released by the New Thinking Industry Research Center, from 2019 to 2023, with the development of the aerospace market, the global solar sensor market will continue to expand, reaching about 100 million US dollars in 2023, and it is expected that the global solar sensor market will grow at an average annual compound growth rate of about 10.0% from 2024 to 2028. The growth rate of the Chinese market will be higher than the global average.
The solar sensor is one of the common satellite attitude sensors, which is mainly used for attitude control of spacecraft or satellites. In 2023, global space launch activities will be very active, with the number of launches and the number of spacecraft all setting new historical records, of which about 2,680 commercial spacecraft will be launched, accounting for about 91% of the total spacecraft launches. According to the Blue Book of China's Aerospace Science and Technology Activities (2023), in 2023, China carried out a total of 67 launch missions and developed and launched 221 spacecraft. The growth of spacecraft launches provides a broad demand space for the development of the solar sensor market.
Solar sensor market players include Sputnix, Bradford Space, CubeSpace, Adcole Space, Skyworld, Xingzhong Space, Changguang Satellite, Shanghai Aerospace Technology, and others. Industry analysts said that the solar sensor has the role of attitude control, positioning and navigation, and is one of the common satellite attitude sensors, which is widely used in aerospace, meteorological monitoring, solar power generation and other fields. In recent years, the mainland aerospace industry has developed rapidly, and the 2023 space launch mission ranks second in the world, and the market demand for solar sensors is broad.