August 7, 2017 by Peter Sooy A model of a satellite aft end on a robot for simulated, controlled rendezvous at the Space Operations Simulation Center. Credit: NASA <\/p>\n
Inside a large, black-walled facility outside Denver, NASA's Satellite Servicing Projects Division (SSPD) team successfully completed the latest testing of three rendezvous and proximity operations sensors used for satellite servicing applicatons and beyond. These sensors are needed for autonomous rendezvous of spacecraft, which is a vital technology for robotically servicing a satellite. <\/p>\n
Held at Lockheed Martin's Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC), this round of testing involved a Vision Navigation System (VNS) light detection and ranging (Lidar) sensor, the Goddard Reconfigurable Solid-state Scanning Lidar (GRSSLi) sensor, and the wide field-of-view visible camera. These three instruments were tested side-by-side in different situations to assess their accuracy and sensitivity for eventual use in satellite servicing. The sensors all contribute to helping a servicer \"see\" and approach a client. <\/p>\n
\"These sensors are the key to tackling the most difficult part of satellite servicing, the autonomous rendezvous. Our team was very pleased with the performance of these imagers in a space-like environment,\" said Bob Smith, satellite servicing project manager. <\/p>\n
To autonomously rendezvous, two spacecraft must connect without any human control or input. A combination of sensors, algorithms and a computer are essential to generate the precise maneuvers needed for this challenging operation. <\/p>\n
During testing at SOSC, engineers simulated multiple scenarios. To start, the three-instrument suite was set to a fixed position and viewed calibrated targets at known distances to calibrate their instrument's light and distance sensitivity. Next, engineers used a model of a satellite affixed to a moving robot, and instruments mounted on another robot to \"fly\" toward the satellite to record data during this simulated, controlled rendezvous. In addition to gathering light and distance measurements using VNS and GRSSLi, this test also allowed operators to test algorithms that determine the position and orientation or \"pose\" of a satellite while conducting a simulated rendezvous. <\/p>\n
SSPD aims to demonstrate and mature technologies that are critical to satellite servicing, including the instruments derived from these tested sensors. The instruments will feed vital data to a cutting-edge SpaceCube computer, which will process the data for autonomous tracking, approach and grasping of a client accordingly. <\/p>\n
The testing conducted at the SOSC confirmed improved performance for light intensity and range measurements by the imagers. The results also indicate that the VNS is progressing on schedule per the SSPD timeline. <\/p>\n
In addition to satellite servicing testing, there were also two teams from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston that tested the VNS for applications specific to human exploration missions. One team gathered data for possible applications of autonomous rendezvous for visiting vehicles to the International Space Station. The second group collected data that could be incorporated into the design of Orion, NASA's new exploration spacecraft, designed to carry astronauts to destinations in deep space, including Mars. Both groups conducted long range testing and simulated rendezvous to a docking port mockup. <\/p>\n
In a technology demonstration related to this SOSC testing, SSPD is also currently executing the Raven mission on the International Space Station, which is helping NASA develop autopilot for spacecraft. While testing at SOSC helps engineers develop algorithms and verify sensor performance using calibrated distances between two objects, testing on the space station provides data on in-orbit functionality of sensors compared to ground testing, and is the best environment to test an infrared camera. Utilizing both ground-testing and flight-testing is part of the process of learning, perfecting, and solving difficult engineering challenges for space exploration. <\/p>\n
The three instruments are now back from SOSC and at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where the SSPD team is reviewing data to streamline and maximize their performance. <\/p>\n
\"The data from this testing will help us build flight cameras and Lidar systems for making satellite servicing a reality,\" said Benjamin Reed, SSPD deputy division director. <\/p>\n
Explore further: NASA to launch Raven to develop autonomous rendezvous capability <\/p>\n
Launching soon, aboard the 10th SpaceX commercial resupply mission, will be a technology module called Raven, which will bring NASA one step closer to having a relative navigation capability. When affixed outside the International ... <\/p>\n
A hybrid computing system developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is the enabling technology behind an ambitious experiment testing a relative navigation and autonomous docking capability known ... <\/p>\n
The International Space Station serves as an orbiting test and demonstration laboratory for scientific experiments to be performed inside and outside the space station. The experiments are inherently transient with typical ... <\/p>\n
Progress continues on the development of NOAA's GOES-S and GOES-T spacecraft that will follow the successful launch of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite or GOES-R, renamed GOES-16 upon reaching geostationary ... <\/p>\n
After a series of delays, NASA's Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft is finally scheduled to launch at 1:21 p.m. EDT, April 15 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. DART is a flight demonstrator ... <\/p>\n
NASAs Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft successfully launched today at 1:25 p.m. EDT (10:25 a.m. PDT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., beginning a 24-hour mission to demonstrate ... <\/p>\n
A group of astronomers led by Javier Lorenzo of the University of Alicante, Spain, has discovered that the binary star system HD 64315 is more complex than previously thought. The new study reveals that HD 64315 contains ... <\/p>\n
Studies of molecular clouds have revealed that star formation usually occurs in a two-step process. First, supersonic flows compress the clouds into dense filaments light-years long, after which gravity collapses the densest ... <\/p>\n
In our hunt for Earth-like planets and extraterrestrial life, we've found thousands of exoplanets orbiting stars other than our sun. The caveat is that most of these planets have been detected using indirect methods. Similar ... <\/p>\n
On July 5, 2017, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory watched an active regionan area of intense and complex magnetic fieldsrotate into view on the Sun. The satellite continued to track the region as it grew and eventually ... <\/p>\n
The elemental composition of the Sun's hot atmosphere known as the 'corona' is strongly linked to the 11-year solar magnetic activity cycle, a team of scientists from UCL, George Mason University and Naval Research Laboratory ... <\/p>\n
Spectacular sunsets and sunrises are enough to dazzle most of us, but to astronomers, dusk and dawn are a waste of good observing time. They want a truly dark sky. <\/p>\n
Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
See original here: <\/p>\n
NASA tests autopilot sensors during simulations - Phys.Org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" August 7, 2017 by Peter Sooy A model of a satellite aft end on a robot for simulated, controlled rendezvous at the Space Operations Simulation Center. Continue reading