A Far Range Image Processing Method for Autonomous Tracking of an Uncooperative Target

Abstract

This paper proposes an image processing method for far range rendezvous. A target spacecraft at distances up to $30$~km is tracked from camera images. The method is based on linking bright, connected sets of pixels over sequences of images. Stars and the target spacecraft are identified by using a star catalog and performing motion segmentation. The algorithm is illustrated in detail and %the visibility of stars and of the target are analyzed which is a prerequisite to perform far range image processing. Further, results of a flight experiment called ARGON are presented. The experiment took place in the extended phase of the PRISMA mission. The image processing method was employed and a successful rendezvous from $30$~km to $3$~km was accomplished using optical navigation.