Visual Navigation For On-Orbit Servicing Missions

Abstract

Increasing complexity and costs of satellite missions promote the idea of looking for opportunities to extend the operational lifetime or to improve the performance of a satellite instead of simply replacing it by a new one. Satellites in orbit can severely be affected by ageing, limited fuel source, or degradation of their hardware components. Also the disposal of spacecraft after the end of lifetime will play a more and more important role in the future, especially, if the involved orbits are of strategic importance. Therefore, satellite on-orbit servicing (OOS) has increasingly caught the interests of both satellite developers and users. One of the critical issues of a satellite on-orbit servicing mission is to ensure a safe and reliable Rendezvous and Docking (RvD) process. DLR is developing new navigation algorithms using standard camera systems and advanced 3D sensor systems like PMD (Photonic Mixing Device). Furthermore DLR has built a new and more advanced RvD simulation facility called EPOS 2.0 (European Proximity Operations Simulator). The facility uses robotic manipulators to generate the relative motion between two satellites and allows full RvD test and simulation capabilities for OOS missions up to a range of 25m.