Gyroscopes at Work

Turning spacecraft and sensing motion

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Reaction wheels turn spacecraft by trading angular momentum, with no fuel.
• Control moment gyroscopes tilt big spinning rotors to make large steering torques.
• Phone gyroscopes sense rotation through the Coriolis effect on a vibrating mass.

Steps

1. Turning without thrusters
2. Point the satellite
3. Gyroscopes on the space station
4. The gyroscope in your phone
5. Gyroscopes with no spinning parts
6. Gimbal lock