Financial terms on the alliance were not disclosed. Both the private and public sector will benefit. The joint development will initially focus on technologies for microgyroscopes, active pixel sensor use in star trackers, systems on a chip and autonomous systems. This new alliance will further enhance cooperation between the world's largest satellite manufacturer and the U. S. space agency's lab.
Spacecraft require gyroscopes to maintain orientation in flight.
Gyroscopes determine changes in angular direction, traditionally by virtue of a rapidly spinning, heavy mass. Spinning mass gyroscopes, originally the gyroscopes of choice for space applications, require lubrication and eventually wear out. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. HSC is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built nearly 40 percent of those in operation. It also is a major supplier of spacecraft and equipment to the U.S. government, and a builder of weather satellites for the United States and Japan.