Guidance algorithms for a free-flying space robot

Robotics is a promising technology for assembly, servicing, and maintenance of platforms in space. Several aspects of planning and guidance for telesupervised and fully autonomous robotic servicers are investigated. Guidance algorithms for proximity operation of a free flyer are described. Numeric trajectory optimization is combined with artificial intelligence based obstacle avoidance. An initial algorithm and the results of its simulating platform servicing scenario are discussed. A second algorithm experiment is then proposed

Mission planning for space based satellite surveillance experiments with the MSX

The Midcourse Space Experiment is a BMDO-sponsored scientific satellite set for launch within the year. The satellite will collect phenomenology data on missile targets, plumes, earth limb backgrounds and deep space backgrounds in the LWIR, visible and ultra-violet spectral bands. It will also conduct functional demonstrations for space-based space surveillance. The Space-Based Visible sensor, built by Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the primary sensor on board the MSX for demonstration of space surveillance. The SBV Processing, Operations and Control Center (SPOCC) is the mission planning and commanding center for all space surveillance experiments using the SBV and other MSX instruments. The guiding principle in the SPOCC Mission Planning System was that all routine functions be automated. Manual analyst input should be minimal. Major concepts are: (I) A high level language, called SLED, for user interface to the system; (2) A group of independent software processes which would generally be run in a pipe-line mode for experiment commanding but can be run independently for analyst assessment; (3) An integrated experiment cost computation function that permits assessment of the feasibility of the experiment. This paper will report on the design, implementation and testing of the Mission Planning System

SPACE-BASED VISIBLE (SBV) SURVEILLANCE DATA VERIFICATION AND TELEMETRY PROCESSING

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 28-31, 1996 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, CaliforniaThis paper discusses the telemetry processing and data verification performed by the SBV Processing, Operations and Control Center (SPOCC) located at MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL). The SPOCC is unique among the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) Data Processing Centers because it supports operational demonstrations of the SBV sensor for Space-Based Space Surveillance applications. The surveillance experiment objectives focus on tracking of resident space objects (RSOs), including acquisition of newly launched satellites. Since Space Surveillance operations have fundamentally short timelines, the SPOCC must be deeply involved in the mission planning for the series of observations and must receive and process the resulting data quickly. In order to achieve these objectives, the MSX Concept of Operations (CONOPS) has been developed to include the SPOCC in the operations planning process. The SPOCC is responsible for generating all MSX spacecraft command information required to execute space surveillance events using the MSX. This operating agreement and a highly automated planning system at the SPOCC allow the planning timeline objectives to be met. In addition, the Space Surveillance experiment scenarios call for active use of the 1 Mbps real-time link to transmit processed targets tracks from the SBV to the SPOCC for processing and for short time-line response of the SPOCC to process the track of the new object and produce new commands for the MSX spacecraft, or other space surveillance sensors, to re-acquire the object. To accomplish this, surveillance data processed and stored onboard the SBV is transmitted to the APL Mission Processing Center via 1 Mbps contacts with the dedicated Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) station, or via one of the AFSCN RTS locations, which forwards the telemetry in real-time to APL. The Mission Processing facility at APL automatically processes the MSX telemetry to extract the SBV allocation and forwards the data via file transfer over a dedicated fractional T1 link to the SPOCC. The data arriving at the SPOCC is automatically identified and processed to yield calibrated metric observations of RSOs. These results are then fed forward into the mission planning process for follow-up observations. In addition to the experiment support discussed above, the SPOCC monitors and stores SBV housekeeping data, monitors payload health and status, and supports diagnosis and correction. There are also software tools which support the assessment of the results of surveillance experiments and to produce a number of products used by the SBV instrument team to assess the overall performance characteristics of the SBV instrument.International Foundation for TelemeteringProceedings from the International Telemetering Conference are made available by the International Foundation for Telemetering and the University of Arizona Libraries. Visit http://www.telemetry.org/index.php/contact-us if you have questions about items in this collection

The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid

technology to detect, characterize, and catalog satellites for more than forty years. Recent advances in highly sensitive, large-format charge-coupled devices (CCDs) allow this technology to be applied to detecting and cataloging asteroids, including near-Earth objects (NEOs). When equipped with a new Lincoln Laboratory focal-plane camera and signal processing technology, the 1-m U.S. Air Force ground-based electro-optical deep-space surveillance (GEODSS) telescopes can conduct sensitive large-coverage searches for Earthcrossing and main-belt asteroids. Field measurements indicate that these enhanced telescopes can achieve a limiting magnitude of 22 over a 2-deg 2 field of view with less than 100 sec of integration. This sensitivity rivals that of much larger telescopes equipped with commercial cameras. Working two years under U.S. Air Force sponsorship, we have developed technology for asteroid search operations at the Lincoln Laboratory Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico. By using a new large-format 2560 × 1960-pixel frame-transfer CCD camera, we have discovered over 10,00

2015 OH22

International audienceAvailable from the Minor Planet Center

2015 OH22

International audienceAvailable from the Minor Planet Center