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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2009

Proximity Operations and Docking Sensor Development

The Next Generation Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (NGAVGS) has been under development for the last three years as a long-range proximity operations and docking sensor for use in an Automated Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) system. The first autonomous rendezvous and docking in the history of the U.S. Space Program was successfully accomplished by Orbital Express, using the Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (AVGS) as the primary docking sensor. That flight proved that the United States now has a mature and flight proven sensor technology for supporting Crew Exploration Vehicles (CEV) and Commercial Orbital Transport Systems (COTS) Automated Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D). NASA video sensors have worked well in the past: the AVGS used on the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) mission operated successfully in spot mode out to 2 km, and the first generation rendezvous and docking sensor, the Video Guidance Sensor (VGS), was developed and successfully flown on Space Shuttle flights in 1997 and 1998. 12 Parts obsolescence issues prevent the construction of more AVGS units, and the next generation sensor was updated to allow it to support the CEV and COTS programs. The flight proven AR&D sensor has been redesigned to update parts and add additional capabilities for CEV and COTS with the development of the Next Generation AVGS at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The obsolete imager and processor are being replaced with new radiation tolerant parts. In addition, new capabilities include greater sensor range, auto ranging capability, and real-time video output. This paper presents some sensor hardware trades, use of highly integrated laser components, and addresses the needs of future vehicles that may rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station (ISS) and other Constellation vehicles. It also discusses approaches for upgrading AVGS to address parts obsolescence, and concepts for minimizing the sensor footprint, weight, and power requirements. In addition, the testing of the brassboard and proto-type NGAVGS units will be discussed along with the use of the NGAVGS as a proximity operations and docking sensor.

Howard, Richard T.↗
NASA NTRS2009

The Next Generation Advanced Video Guidance Sensor: Flight Heritage and Current Development

The Next Generation Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (NGAVGS) is the latest in a line of sensors that have flown four times in the last 10 years. The NGAVGS has been under development for the last two years as a long-range proximity operations and docking sensor for use in an Automated Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) system. The first autonomous rendezvous and docking in the history of the U.S. Space Program was successfully accomplished by Orbital Express, using the Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (AVGS) as the primary docking sensor. That flight proved that the United States now has a mature and flight proven sensor technology for supporting Crew Exploration Vehicles (CEV) and Commercial Orbital Transport Systems (COTS) Automated Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D). NASA video sensors have worked well in the past: the AVGS used on the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) mission operated successfully in "spot mode" out to 2 km, and the first generation rendezvous and docking sensor, the Video Guidance Sensor (VGS), was developed and successfully flown on Space Shuttle flights in 1997 and 1998. This paper presents the flight heritage and results of the sensor technology, some hardware trades for the current sensor, and discusses the needs of future vehicles that may rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station (ISS) and other Constellation vehicles. It also discusses approaches for upgrading AVGS to address parts obsolescence, and concepts for minimizing the sensor footprint, weight, and power requirements. In addition, the testing of the various NGAVGS development units will be discussed along with the use of the NGAVGS as a proximity operations and docking sensor.

Howard, Richard T.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Building Safer Systems With SpecTRM

System safety, an integral component in software development, often poses a challenge to engineers designing computer-based systems. While the relaxed constraints on software design allow for increased power and flexibility, this flexibility introduces more possibilities for error. As a result, system engineers must identify the design constraints necessary to maintain safety and ensure that the system and software design enforces them. Safeware Engineering Corporation, of Seattle, Washington, provides the information, tools, and techniques to accomplish this task with its Specification Tools and Requirements Methodology (SpecTRM). NASA assisted in developing this engineering toolset by awarding the company several Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts with Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center. The technology benefits NASA through its applications for Space Station rendezvous and docking. SpecTRM aids system and software engineers in developing specifications for large, complex safety critical systems. The product enables engineers to find errors early in development so that they can be fixed with the lowest cost and impact on the system design. SpecTRM traces both the requirements and design rationale (including safety constraints) throughout the system design and documentation, allowing engineers to build required system properties into the design from the beginning, rather than emphasizing assessment at the end of the development process when changes are limited and costly.System safety, an integral component in software development, often poses a challenge to engineers designing computer-based systems. While the relaxed constraints on software design allow for increased power and flexibility, this flexibility introduces more possibilities for error. As a result, system engineers must identify the design constraints necessary to maintain safety and ensure that the system and software design enforces them. Safeware Engineering Corporation, of Seattle, Washington, provides the information, tools, and techniques to accomplish this task with its Specification Tools and Requirements Methodology (SpecTRM). NASA assisted in developing this engineering toolset by awarding the company several Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts with Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center. The technology benefits NASA through its applications for Space Station rendezvous and docking. SpecTRM aids system and software engineers in developing specifications for large, complex safety critical systems. The product enables engineers to find errors early in development so that they can be fixed with the lowest cost and impact on the system design. SpecTRM traces both the requirements and design rationale (including safety constraints) throughout the system design and documentation, allowing engineers to build required system properties into the design from the beginning, rather than emphasizing assessment at the end of the development process when changes are limited and costly.

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NASA NTRS1991

An autonomous rendezvous and docking system using cruise missile technologies

In November 1990 the Autonomous Rendezvous & Docking (AR&D) system was first demonstrated for members of NASA's Strategic Avionics Technology Working Group. This simulation utilized prototype hardware from the Cruise Missile and Advanced Centaur Avionics systems. The object was to show that all the accuracy, reliability and operational requirements established for a space craft to dock with Space Station Freedom could be met by the proposed system. The rapid prototyping capabilities of the Advanced Avionics Systems Development Laboratory were used to evaluate the proposed system in a real time, hardware in the loop simulation of the rendezvous and docking reference mission. The simulation permits manual, supervised automatic and fully autonomous operations to be evaluated. It is also being upgraded to be able to test an Autonomous Approach and Landing (AA&L) system. The AA&L and AR&D systems are very similar. Both use inertial guidance and control systems supplemented by GPS. Both use an Image Processing System (IPS), for target recognition and tracking. The IPS includes a general purpose multiprocessor computer and a selected suite of sensors that will provide the required relative position and orientation data. Graphic displays can also be generated by the computer, providing the astronaut / operator with real-time guidance and navigation data with enhanced video or sensor imagery.

Jones, Ruel Edwin↗
NASA NTRS2010

Material Properties of Three Candidate Elastomers for Space Seals Applications

A next-generation docking system is being developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to support Constellation Space Exploration Missions to low Earth orbit (LEO), to the Moon, and to Mars. A number of investigations were carried out to quantify the properties of candidate elastomer materials for use in the main interface seal of the Low Impact Docking System (LIDS). This seal forms the gas pressure seal between two mating spacecraft. Three candidate silicone elastomer compounds were examined: Esterline ELA-SA-401, Parker Hannifin S0383-70, and Parker Hannifin S0899-50. All three materials were characterized as low-outgassing compounds, per ASTM E595, so as to minimize the contamination of optical and solar array systems. Important seal properties such as outgas levels, durometer, tensile strength, elongation to failure, glass transition temperature, permeability, compression set, Yeoh strain energy coefficients, coefficients of friction, coefficients of thermal expansion, thermal conductivity and diffusivity were measured and are reported herein.

Bastrzyk, Marta B.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Automatic Docking System Sensor Design, Test, and Mission Performance

The Video Guidance Sensor is a key element of an automatic rendezvous and docking program administered by NASA that was flown on STS-87 in November of 1997. The system used laser illumination of a passive target in the field of view of an on-board camera and processed the video image to determine the relative position and attitude between the target and the sensor. Comparisons of mission results with theoretical models and laboratory measurements will be discussed.

Jackson, John L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Automated Rendezvous and Capture System Development and Simulation for NASA

The United States does not have an Automated Rendezvous and Capture Docking (AR&C) capability and is reliant on manned control for rendezvous and docking of orbiting spacecraft. T h i s reliance on the labor intensive manned interface for control of rendezvous and docking vehicles has a significant impact on the cost of the operation of the International Space Station (ISS) and precludes the use of any U.S. expendable launch capabilities for Space Station resupply. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has conducted pioneering research in the development of an automated rendezvous and capture (or docking) (AR&C) system for U.S. space vehicles. This A M C system was tested extensively using hardware-in-the-loop simulations in the Flight Robotics Laboratory, and a rendezvous sensor, the Video Guidance Sensor was developed and successfully flown on the Space Shuttle on flights STS-87 and STS-95, proving the concept of a video- based sensor. Further developments in sensor technology and vehicle and target configuration have lead to continued improvements and changes in AR&C system development and simulation. A new Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (AVGS) with target will be utilized as the primary navigation sensor on the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technologies (DART) flight experiment in 2004. Realtime closed-loop simulations will be performed to validate the improved AR&C systems prior to flight.

Roe, Fred D.↗
NASA NTRS2004

NASA Tech Briefs, July 2004

Topics: Optoelectronic Sensor System for Guidance in Docking; Hybrid Piezoelectric/Fiber-Optic Sensor Sheets; Multisensor Arrays for Greater Reliability and Accuracy; Integrated-Optic Oxygen Sensors; Ka-Band Autonomous Formation Flying Sensor; CMOS VLSI Active-Pixel Sensor for Tracking; Lightweight, Self-Deploying Foam Antenna Structures; Electrically Small Microstrip Quarter-Wave Monopole Antennas; A 2-to-28-MHz Phase-Locked Loop; Portable Electromyograph; Open-Source Software for Modeling of Nanoelectronic Devices; Software for Generating Strip Maps from SAR Data; Calibration Software for use with Jurassicprok; Software for Probabilistic Risk Reduction; Software Processes SAR Motion-Measurement Data; Improved Method of Purifying Carbon Nanotubes; Patterned Growth of Carbon Nanotubes or Nanofibers; Lightweight, Rack-Mountable Composite Cold Plate/Shelves; SiC-Based Miniature High-Temperature Cantilever Anemometer; Inlet Housing for a Partial-Admission Turbine; Lightweight Thermoformed Structural Components and Optics; Growing High-Quality InAs Quantum Dots for Infrared Lasers; Selected Papers on Protoplanetary Disks; Module for Oxygenating Water without Generating Bubbles; Coastal Research Imaging Spectrometer; Rapid Switching and Modulation by use of Coupled VCSELs; Laser-Induced-Fluorescence Photogrammetry and Videogrammetry; Laboratory Apparatus Generates Dual-Species Cold Atomic Beam; Laser Ablation of Materials for Propulsion of Spacecraft; Small Active Radiation Monitor; Hybrid Image-Plane/Stereo Manipulation; Partitioning a Gridded Rectangle into Smaller Rectangles; Digital Radar-Signal Processors Implemented in FPGAs; Part 1 of a Computational Study of a Drop-Laden Mixing Layer; and Some Improvements in Signal-Conditioning Circuits.

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NASA NTRS1992

Autonomous berthing/unberthing of a Work Attachment Mechanism/Work Attachment Fixture (WAM/WAF)

Discussed here is the autonomous berthing of a Work Attachment Mechanism/Work Attachment Fixture (WAM/WAF) developed by NASA for berthing and docking applications in space. The WAM/WAF system enables fast and reliable berthing (unberthing) of space hardware. A successful operation of the WAM/WAF requires that the WAM motor velocity be precisely controlled. The operating principle and the design of the WAM/WAF is described as well as the development of a control system used to regulate the WAM motor velocity. The results of an experiment in which the WAM/WAF is used to handle an orbital replacement unit are given.

Nguyen, Charles C.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Embedded Relative Navigation Sensor Fusion Algorithms for Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking Missions

bd Systems (a subsidiary of SAIC) has developed a suite of embedded relative navigation sensor fusion algorithms to enable NASA autonomous rendezvous and docking (AR&D) missions. Translational and rotational Extended Kalman Filters (EKFs) were developed for integrating measurements based on the vehicles' orbital mechanics and high-fidelity sensor error models and provide a solution with increased accuracy and robustness relative to any single relative navigation sensor. The filters were tested tinough stand-alone covariance analysis, closed-loop testing with a high-fidelity multi-body orbital simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) testing in the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Flight Robotics Laboratory (FRL).

DeKock, Brandon K.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System for the International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) requires stores of Oxygen (O2) and Nitrogen (N2) to provide for atmosphere replenishment, direct crew member usage, and payload operations. Currently, supplies of N2/O2 are maintained by transfer from the Space Shuttle. Following Space Shuttle is retirement in 2010, an alternate means of resupplying N2/O2 to the ISS is needed. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has determined that the optimal method of supplying the ISS with O2/N2 is using tanks of high pressure N2/O2 carried to the station by a cargo vehicle capable of docking with the ISS. This paper will outline the architecture of the system selected by NASA and will discuss some of the design challenges associated with this use of high pressure oxygen and nitrogen in the human spaceflight environment.

Williams, David E.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Present Challenges, Critical Needs, and Future Technological Directions for NASA's GN and C Engineering Discipline

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently undergoing a substantial redirection. Notable among the changes occurring within NASA is the stated emphasis on technology development, integration, and demonstration. These new changes within the Agency should have a positive impact on the GN&C discipline given the potential for sizeable investments for technology development and in-space demonstrations of both Autonomous Rendezvous & Docking (AR&D) systems and Autonomous Precision Landing (APL) systems. In this paper the NASA Technical Fellow for Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) provides a summary of the present technical challenges, critical needs, and future technological directions for NASA s GN&C engineering discipline. A brief overview of the changes occurring within NASA that are driving a renewed emphasis on technology development will be presented as background. The potential benefits of the planned GN&C technology developments will be highlighted. This paper will provide a GN&C State-of-the-Discipline assessment. The discipline s readiness to support the goals & objectives of each of the four NASA Mission Directorates is evaluated and the technical challenges and barriers currently faced by the discipline are summarized. This paper will also discuss the need for sustained investments to sufficiently mature the several classes of GN&C technologies required to implement NASA crewed exploration and robotic science missions.

Dennehy, Cornelius J.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Project Link!: Dynamics and Control of In-Flight Wing Tip Docking

Project Link! is a NASA-led effort to study the feasibility of multi-aircraft aerial docking systems. In these systems, a group of vehicles physically link to each other during flight to form a larger ensemble vehicle with increased aerodynamic performance and mission utility. This paper presents a dynamic model and control architecture for a system of fixed-wing vehicles with this capability. The dynamic model consists of the 6 degree-of-freedom fixed-wing aircraft equations of motion, a spring-damper-magnet system to represent the linkage force between constituent vehicles, and the NASA-Burnham-Hallock wingtip vortex model to represent the close-proximity aerodynamic interactions between constituents before the linking occurs. The control architecture consists of a guidance algorithm to autonomously drive the constituents towards their linking partners and an inner-loop angular rate controller. A simulation was constructed from the model, and the flight dynamic modes of the linked system were compared to the individual vehicles. Simulation results for both before and after linking are presented.

Cooper, John R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Automated terminal guidance for a Shuttle rendezvous to Space Station Freedom

An automated terminal guidance for a Shuttle rendezvous based on the Clohessy-Wiltshire (CW) linear equations of relative motion is described. The algorithm guides the Shuttle from the last rendezvous midcourse maneuver (MC4) through docking with Space Station Freedom (SSF). The uniqueness of this algorithm is that it makes it possible to use the CW equations to fly a line-of-sight (LOS) Vbar or Rbar in the final-approach docking phase. The algorithm is made of two parts, in and out-of-plane, and can also be used for station keeping during final approaches. Simulation results of the guidance integrated with the Shuttle's flight control system in the Systems Engineering Simulator (SES) at NASA Johnson are discussed. Plans to add a laser radar docking sensor to the SES and integrate it with the Shuttle's rendezvous navigation are examined.

Olszewski, Oscar W.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Electric Six Degree of Freedom Installation Timelapse (Six Degree of Freedom Dynamic Test System)

The Six-degree-of-freedom Dynamic Test System (SDTS) is a short-range real-time motion based testing platform. Its primary use at NASA/JSC has been for development and qualification testing of docking systems, robotic assisted berthing mechanisms, and dynamic attachment systems. The SDTS is a closed-loop force feedback system that can simulate on-orbit contact dynamics between two vehicles utilizing the actual mechanical interfaces for testing. The facility is controlled by interconnected computers running real-time simulation software that takes measured contact forces, integrates the equations of motion in real time, and provide those states back into the motion table. This infrastructure can also be used for non-mating applications such as relative position sensor testing/evaluations. The SDTS facility provides a superstructure for mounting test articles, multiple test sensors, an intercom network for voice communications, and a synchronized timing system for data acquisition that includes HD video. This time-lapse video shows the buildup and testing of a modern electric actuation system created by Mikrolar, Inc. at the Johnson Space Center. This motion base will replace the current hydraulic actuator system, which is been in use since the 1970s, for all-future NASA testing. Once the system goes through customization to provide JSC’s unique closed-loop environment, the facility will help certify docking system and attach mechanisms on the ground before we send the first woman and the next man to the lunar surface

hexapod↗
NASA NTRS1985

Review of laser and RF systems for space proximity operations

The development of ranging and tracking systems for NASA space missions is discussed. Among the systems described are: rendezvous and docking (RAD) radar systems for the Gemini and Apollo programs; the Shuttle Rendezvous Ku-band radar system; and laser and TV docking systems RAD sensors systems for the Space Station. A multi-target microwave tracking system for Shuttle applications in the future is also described.

Krishen, K.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Space-Proven Medical Monitor: The Total Patient-Care Package

The primary objective of the Gemini Program was to develop techniques that would allow for advanced, long-duration space travel, a prerequisite of the ensuing Apollo Program that would put man safely on the Moon before the end of the decade. In order to carry out this objective, NASA worked with a variety of innovative companies to develop propulsion systems, onboard computers, and docking capabilities that were critical to the health of Gemini spacecraft, as well as life-support systems and physiological-monitoring devices that were critical to the health of Gemini astronauts. One of these companies was Spacelabs Medical, Inc., the pioneer of what is commonly known today as medical telemetry. Spacelabs Medical helped NASA better understand man s reaction to space through a series of bioinstrumentation devices that, for the first time ever, were capable of monitoring orbiting astronauts physical conditions in real time, from Earth. The company went on to further expand its knowledge of monitoring and maintaining health in space, and then brought it down to Earth, to dramatically change the course of patient monitoring in the field of health care.

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NASA NTRS1999

Test Results for the Automated Rendezvous and Capture System

The Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C) system was designed and tested at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to demonstrate technologies and mission strategies for automated rendezvous and docking of spacecraft in Earth orbit, The system incorporates some of the latest innovations in Global Positioning, System space navigation, laser sensor technologies and automated mission sequencing algorithms. The system's initial design and integration was completed in 1998 and has undergone testing at MSFC. This paper describes the major components of the AR&C system and presents results from the official system tests performed in MSFC's Flight Robotics Laboratory with digital simulations and hardware in the loop tests. The results show that the AR&C system can safely and reliably perform automated rendezvous and docking missions in the absence of system failures with 100 percent success. When system failures are included, the system uses its automated collision avoidance maneuver logic to recover in a safe manner. The primary objective of the AR&C project is to prove that by designing a safe and robust automated system, mission operations cost can be reduced by decreasing the personnel required for mission design, preflight planning and training required for crewed rendezvous and docking missions.

Cruzen, Craig↗