Drew Neal

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About

Drew Neal is a leading figure in spacecraft mechanisms and small satellite attitude control, best known for pioneering the development of miniature Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). His seminal 2014 paper, "Miniature Control Moment Gyroscope development," details the creation of a compact CMG product at Honeybee Robotics that delivers a nominal angular momentum of 56 mNm-s and peak output torques of 172 mNm—a breakthrough enabling precise, agile maneuvering for small spacecraft. With 15 citations, this work has become a foundational reference for engineers seeking to miniaturize high-performance attitude control systems without sacrificing torque capacity. Neal’s contributions directly address the growing demand for efficient, scalable hardware in CubeSats and microsatellites, bridging the gap between traditional large-scale CMGs and the constraints of smaller platforms. His achievements underscore a career dedicated to advancing space mechanism reliability and performance, making him a key innovator in the field of small satellite technology.