Attitude and Articulation control

A spacecraft's attitude, its orientation in space, must be stabilized and controlled so that its

•  High-gain antenna is accurately pointed to Earth.

•  The onboard experiments are accomplished by precise pointing for accurate collection and subsequent interpretation of data

•  The heating and cooling effects of sunlight and shadow is used intelligently for thermal control

This subsystem is responsible for the overall system control to make sure that the spacecraft is in the proper location and orbit. It uses thrusters and reaction wheels to maneuver the vehicle to appropriate position.