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by zamalek 4045 days ago
Most likely relative to the gyro's axes. Unless they use an accelerometer to calibrate to Earth's gravity well.
1 comments

When you're in freefall, an accelerometer tells you nothing :).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivalence_principle

Two accelerometers could tell you something! They probably aren't sensitive enough to get the job done at that scale, though.
True! Modern gravity gradiometers/differential accelerometers probably are sensitive enough for coarse orientation, particularly if they were deployed at the perimeter of the sail.

To do so would, of course, obliterate LightSail's budget :)

Source: worked on R&D for the LISA inertial reference system.