The ADCS system in the AraMiS satellite

AraMiS is a modular platform for small satellites, that is being developed at Politecnico di Torino. Standardized basic building blocks, called tiles, in various number and kind, are combined to build small spacecrafts according to specific requirements. This paper describes the effect of the AraMiS architecture on the Attitude Determination and Control system, its components, the algorithm and its implementation on the AraMiS reference platform. The main aspects that are considered are the variability of arrangement of tiles, the multiplicity of sensors and actuators due to redundancy, and the possibility of failures that can dynamically change their availability. The ADCS system should therefore adapt to these constraints and exploit them to enhance its performance and accuracy whenever possible, while providing basic quality of service in the worst scenarios.