| 摘要 |
A method and apparatus determines attitude of a satellite (52) or other communications device traveling in a determinable path. The method comprises determining orientation data describing directions of one or more narrow-beam RF or laser communications channels (223, 225, 231, 233, 241, 251, 253, and 261; Fig. 2) and using the orientation data and known position of the satellite to determine the attitude of the satellite. The apparatus comprises one or more directional transmitters and receivers (310, 312, 314, 316, 318, and 320; Fig. 3) coupled to controller (330), where controller (330) accepts orientation controller data from the one or more directional transmitters and receivers and determines the satellite's attitude based on the orientation controller data and the known positions of the transmitters and receivers.
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