A control momentum gyroscope, abbreviated to CMG was a type of highly sensitive gyroscope utilized in starship gyrocomputers. CMGs consisted of a spinning rotor, mounted to one or more tilting gimbals and placed inside a frame that was fixed parallel to the starship's "horizontal" position relative to a planet's terrain. When the starship changed position in either of its axis, the gyroscope would maintain the same plane and tilt, changing its angular momentum and causing a gyroscopic torque. Data from the CMGs' movement was then fed to specialized sensors in the gyrocomputer's exterior to assist the main navigation computer's function.[1]
Behind the scenes
Control momentum gyroscopes were first mentioned in current Star Wars canon in the twenty-fifth issue of De Agostini's Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon magazine,[1] published around June 24, 2015. The same issue also featured a diagram of their function.[2]
Sources
- Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 25 Secrets of Spaceflight: Gyrocomputers (First mentioned) (First pictured)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 25 Secrets of Spaceflight: Gyrocomputers
- ↑ The second issue of the De Agostini weekly magazine Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon was set to be published on January 14, 2015, according to
De Agostini Publishing: Build the Millennium Falcon Magazine & Model by Chris Wyman on TheForce.net (January 8, 2015) (backup link archived on November 6, 2016). Therefore, Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 25 was published around June 24, 2015.
