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Precision pointing is arguably the greatest challenge in satellite optical communications. Given the extremely long distances involved, extremely accurate pointing is required to achieve a link of sufficient power. For example, the ESA [[ARTEMIS and SPOT-4]] inter-satellite link required a pointing error of less than 10 microradians  and NASA’s [[LLCD]] was designed to have a pointing stability of just 4 microradians . Achieving this kind of precision with a mechanism that must withstand the shock and vibrations levels of launch and payload deployment is even more difficult.

Precision pointing is arguably the greatest challenge in satellite optical communications. Given the extremely long distances involved, extremely accurate pointing is required to achieve a link of sufficient power. For example, the ESA [[ARTEMIS and SPOT-4]] inter-satellite link required a pointing error of less than 10 microradians  and NASA’s [[LLCD]] was designed to have a pointing stability of just 4 microradians . Achieving this kind of precision with a mechanism that must withstand the shock and vibrations levels of launch and payload deployment is even more difficult.

It is likely not technically feasible to achieve this level of pointing precision in a CubeSat in the near future, however there is a lot of promising work in this field. One CubeSat components manufacturer, for example, is offering a CubeSat bus that claims +/- 0.002 degree (34.9 microradian) pointing accuracy with 1 arc second stability .

It is likely not technically feasible to achieve this level of pointing precision in a CubeSat in the near future, however there is a lot of promising work in this field. One CubeSat components manufacturer, for example, is offering a CubeSat bus that claims +/- 0.002 degree (34.9 microradian) pointing accuracy with 1 arc second stability [http://bluecanyontech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/XB1-Data-Sheet_1.0.pdf].