Reaction wheels are crucial components for satellites of all shapes and sizes. They are becoming particularly important in the modern space industry, due to increasing demands for better for maneuverability, agility and precision control of small satellites.

This demand for improved performance and control follows the trend we’re seeing in the in-space propulsion sector, which you can read more about on our recent post discussing CubeSat thrusters.

In this article we take a high-level look at how reaction wheels work, what to take into consideration when searching for a reaction wheel for your satellite, and give an overview of some of the products currently available on the global marketplace for space.

If you would like to skip the introductory material and go straight to to view the available products, please click here, otherwise please read on.





What are reaction wheels?

Reaction wheels are internal mechanical components of controllable satellites and spacecraft that enable them to reposition while in orbit. They are sometimes referred to as momentum wheels.

Reaction wheels store rotational energy, providing satellites or spacecraft with three-axis attitude control without requiring external sources of torque (such as rockets or propellants), saving on weight and the available space.

Note that attitude in this context refers to the orientation of the satellite with respect to another object or frame of reference (such as a celestial sphere centred on Earth) and three-axis control refers to the typical x-y-z cartesian system used to specify an object’s location in three dimensions.

Reaction wheels control a satellite’s attitude with very high precision, which is critical for applications that require excellent pointing accuracy, such as for Earth Observation purposes, or to keep a telescope fixed towards a particular region of interest.

Please note that this is just a brief introduction to reaction wheels of course; in a future article as part of our Let’s talk about series on the blog we’ll go deeper into the topic of attitude control - if you’d like to be informed when this is published, please sign up to our mailing list at the link below.





How to select the best reaction wheel for your needs

In our recent product overview article on CubeSat thrusters we suggested a basic four-step approach to selecting the right in-space propulsion system for your needs.

This framework can also be used to select the optimum reaction wheel, and an overview is given below:

Specify your exact mission parameters - ensure you are clear on the full range of activities your spacecraft needs to perform.

- ensure you are clear on the full range of activities your spacecraft needs to perform. Record all known design specifications of the satellite - keep to hand the current specifications of the craft (understanding these may change as the design evolves) - for example, it is vital that reaction wheel sizing is correct due to the impact on the system’s available volume.

- keep to hand the current specifications of the craft (understanding these may change as the design evolves) - for example, it is vital that reaction wheel sizing is correct due to the impact on the system’s available volume. Consider the range of technology that will be used in the system - take into account the results of all decisions on what other components and sub-systems have been made. It is important that the reaction wheel you choose will work effectively with the other parts of the satellite.

- take into account the results of all decisions on what other components and sub-systems have been made. It is important that the reaction wheel you choose will work effectively with the other parts of the satellite. Take into account the key performance criteria - understand how to evaluate available reaction wheel products according to the criteria most relevant for your applications. More on this below.

For a reaction wheel the key performance criteria will include characteristics such as:

Size/volume and weight

Attitude control sensitivity and precision

Control equipment, mechanisms and procedures

Installation procedures and equipment

Redundancy system (e.g. 4th wheel)

Flight heritage, testing results and/or technology readiness level (TRL)





Reaction wheels available on the global market

In the article section below we have included a selection of the reaction wheel products currently available on the market.

Please note that this list will be updated when new products are added to the global marketplace for space - so please check back for more.









The RW210 and RW400 series reaction wheels are aimed at applications in 1-3 U CubeSats and 6-12 U CubeSats (or similar platforms) respectively. Both systems feature a small envelope (of 25 x 25 x 15 mm for the RW210 and 50 x 50 x 27 mm for the RW400) that includes a dedicated controller, offering simple fire-and-forget control to the user.

The RW210 comes in three models that offer 1.5, 3.0 or 6.0 mN.m.s of angular momentum storage respectively in both directions and 0.1 mN.m of torque that allows for rapid slewing operations with small satellites.





The RW400 comes in three models that offer 15, 30 or 50 mN.m.s of angular momentum storage respectively in both directions and Up to 12 mN.m of torque that also allows for rapid slewing operations with small satellites.











CubeSpace offers the CubeWheel range of reaction wheels in three distinct sizes to suit different satellite requirements. CubeWheels include a highly balanced flywheel disc, a brushless electrical motor, an electronic driver and a microcontroller. The wheels can be given a speed reference command through I2C, UART or CAN, and they integrate easily with any ADCS.

The modular wheels are provided with all driving and interfacing electronics integrated into a complete package. They are also individually precision-balanced to reduce vibration and are able to operate at a wide range of voltages, making them compatible with satellites running on battery voltages between 6.5V and 18V.











NanoAvionics provides reaction/momentum wheels as a separate component (RW0) or an integral four- reaction wheels redundant 3-axis control system (4RW0) to enable precision pointing of the small satellite.











Space inventor offers two reaction wheels (30mm and 50mm) suitable for micro and nano-satellite missions. Both wheels include an integrated 3-phase outrunner BLDC motor, commutated by their own internal microcontroller, which runs the control loop to control speed and acceleration upon commands from the ADCS computer. The wheels are fitted with basic telemetry sensors: temperature, vibration, current, speed. Depending on requirements, four wheels can be provided assembled in tetrahedron configuration for the benefit of both redundancy and elimination of zero crossing the wheel speeds.













NewSpace Systems offers reaction wheels in a range of sizes (NRWA-T005, NRWA-T065 and NRWA-T10). Typically, three to four reaction wheels are needed to provide full three-axis control of a spacecraft and the additional integration of these wheels with external gyroscopes for full three-axis control using inertial rates. With high torque stability, wheel momentum capacity and accurate speed control; the NewSpace reaction wheels are ideal for agile small satellite missions requiring highly precise pointing.













Sinclair Interplanetary has pioneered high-reliability, vacuum-lubricated reaction wheels for picosatellites, nanosatellites and microsats. There are currently more than 75 wheels in-orbit, all working well. All reaction wheels in the range incorporate a built-in digital processor. They can be controlled over a serial bus to produce a desired speed, momentum or torque, and report digital telemetry concerning speed, temperature, voltage, current, and other health parameters.





The full portfolio of reaction wheel products listed on satsearch consists of:





Astrofein manufactures a range of reaction wheel products for different size satellites. The suite of products ranges from one of the world’s smallest commercial reaction wheels, the RW 1 (10-4 Nms), to the RW 250 (4 Nms) system. Note that the RW 90 and RW 1 are flight proven and four RW 90 reaction wheels are used in the small satellite TET-1 (launched 2012).





The full portfolio of reaction wheel products listed on satsearch consists of:





The RWA-05 by Berlin Space Technologies is a reaction wheel assembly with an integrated fibre optical Gyro (RWA) for small satellites. The integrated gyro enables highly accurate control loops such as precise speed, angular rate and angle control loops. These features have been pioneered on Berlin satellites since 1994.











Blue Canyon Technologies reaction wheels provide an efficient, high-performance solution for spacecraft attitude control. The wheels are available in a range of sizes, providing the combination of torque and momentum storage to suit different spacecraft and mission requirements. Control electronics are available in each reaction wheel, simplifying system integration and operations.





The full range of reaction wheel products manufactured by Blue Canyon Technologies available on satsearch are included below:





CubeSat Pointing reaction wheels enable accurate control of the attitude of CubeSats. The wheels have been tested for a 3-year lifetime and have the required torque and momentum capacity for typical 3U CubeSat missions. Their compact design and easy interface facilitate integration in any satellite.







GSW-600 by GomSpace





The GomSpace NanoTorque GSW-600 is a compact and high performance reaction wheel designed and qualified for an equivalent of 3 years in-orbit operations. The envelope of the reaction wheel is designed to allow 4 wheels to be placed in a redundant setup within the envelope of a standard CubeSat. Available versions are 4-wheel 30° pyramid and cold-spare setup. The GSW-600 wheel is available in a version with SPI and I2C interface and one with CAN and I2C interface.









The HR 0610 Reaction Wheel provides a high-speed, low-weight solution for small spacecraft. Standard microelectronics provide flexibility for wheel performance over a wide range of spacecraft interfaces.











The MicroWheel is a “smart” sensor/actuator pair. It includes both a reaction wheel, and an optional solid-state angular rate sensor, both of which are operated locally by an embedded microcontroller. The microcontroller implements local speed and torque control loops for the reaction wheel, allowing the reaction wheel to accurately track speed or torque commands from a satellite’s attitude control computer. Commands as well as telemetry (e.g., measured wheel speed, momentum, acceleration, torque, rate sensor measurements, temperatures, voltages, internal pressure, etc.) are communicated via a serial interface.







Reaction Wheel Units by Bradford Space







Bradford Space manufactures a range of Reaction Wheel Units (RWUs) consisting of a Wheel Drive Electronics Box (WDE) and a Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA); a rotating inertial mass, driven by a brushless DC electric motor. The wheel accelerates when power is applied to the motor causing the satellite body to rotate in the opposite direction, due to the induced counter-torque. A minimum of three sets of RWAs are needed per satellite to allow rotational control around the three axes. An extra RWA is generally used for redundancy purposes. The portfolio consists of:













Tamagawa seiki’s reaction wheel for microsatellites weighs less than 1.1 kg and features angular momentum storage of 0.3 Nms. The unit is just 65 mm long, 98 mm in diameter, and is designed for use with a range of microsatellites for various applications and orbits. It can deliver a torque of 0.02 Nm on a power input of less than 10 W.















The RW1000 is an integrated digital reaction flywheel consisting of a brushless motor, photoelectric encoding sensor, rotating mass, sealed housing, ball bearing unit, and digital electronic control. It can provide a torque of 1 Nm and an angular momentum of 15 Nms simultaneously and is primarily used in zero momentum satellites and light, fast reaction satellites which require rapid attitude manoeuvre in middle or high orbits.









The RW270 is a ball-bearing reaction wheel system for exerting inertia within the attitude control system of a satellite. It includes a brushless DC motor, reaction wheel body, base, welding ring, bearing components and control circuit board. The reaction wheel receives commands from the on-board computer (OBC) which controls the brushless DC motor through the control circuit.















The RW-10NMS reaction wheel is designed for small to medium size LEO satellites which require highly stabilised, 3-axis controlled, agile platforms. It can be used as both a torque actuator and momentum storage device and can be controlled with speed and torque commands.









Thanks for reading! If you would like any further help identifying a reaction wheel product for your specific needs, please file a request on our platform and we’ll use our global network of suppliers to find an option.