LN-200S and LN-200HPS Inertial Measurement Units

An inertial fiber-optic gyro for space applications that offers outstanding accel/gyro bias and random walk performance.

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover on Mars

State of the Art Fiber Optics

The LN-200S is a small, lightweight, highly reliable, state-of-the-art fiber-optic inertial measurement unit (IMU). The LN-200S comprises three solid-state fiber-optic gyros and three solid-state silicon Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems accelerometers in a compact package that measures velocity and angle changes in a coordinate system fixed relative to its case. Digital output data of incremental velocity and angle are provided to user equipment over a digital serial data bus.

LN-200S Applications

Designed for short- to medium-term space missions, the LN-200S provides highly reliable attitude reference and acceleration data for moderate performance demands, including:

Earth and heliocentric orbits
Missions lasting up to six years
Moderate three-axis inertial reference

LN-200S Advantages

Adapted from Northrop Grumman's medium accuracy IMU, the LN-200S maintains performance, even in demanding environmental conditions. The unit is hermetically sealed, which is advantageous for planetary and asteroid probes. The non-dithered, low-voltage inertial sensors ensure long, reliable usage life and low noise. The LN-200S IMU has been utilized and is still performing on the NASA Mars rovers after more than 10 years. The LN-200S has the lowest gyro and accelerometer white noise in the medium accuracy IMU class. The commercial LN-200S has been successfully used on several International Exploratory Probes and has been in continuous production since 2000.