RemoveDebris Vision-Based Navigation preliminary results

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Vision-based navigation experiment onboard the removedebris mission

International audienceAirbus has been strongly involved in the design of Vision-Based Navigation (VBN) systems over the last years, with particular focus on applications such as planetary landing and orbital rendezvous. Based on this background and due to the increasing interest in Active Debris Removal (ADR), solutions for autonomous, vision-based navigation for non-cooperative rendezvous have been investigated. Dedicated image processing and navigation algorithms have been designed at Airbus and INRIA to meet this specific case, and some of them have already been tested over synthetic images and actual pictures of various spacecraft. As the next step, a VBN experiment will be conducted onboard the upcoming RemoveDebris ADR demonstration mission. The RemoveDEBRIS mission, sponsored by the European Commission FP7 programme, started in 2013 and will launch to the International Space Station late 2017 from where it will be deployed to a 400km orbit. In addition to the VBN experiment, the mission will perform other ADR experiments such as net and harpoon capture and dragsail de-orbiting. The VBN experiment will validate vision-based navigation equipment and algorithms, through ground-based processing of actual images acquired in flight of a debris mock-up target, in conditions fully representative of ADR. It will demonstrate state-of-the-art image processing and navigation algorithms based on actual flight data, acquired through three different but complementary sensors: two standard cameras, and a flash imaging LiDAR developed by CSEM, and validate a flash imaging LiDAR in flight

Sensor Data Fusion For Hazard Mapping And Piloting

International audienceAutonomous landing on Mars, Moon or asteroids may require a Hazard Detection and Avoidance (HDA) system on-board the lander. Past studies on HDA dealt with the use of camera or LiDARs separately to detect dangerous slopes, boulders and shadow areas. The present work, performed in the frame of an ESA TRP, proposes to use jointly a camera and a LiDAR to take advantage of each while mitigating their drawbacks, consequently improving the HDA performances. Various algorithmic solutions and sensor configurations are proposed and tested in the Mars and asteroid landing cases

The RemoveDebris ADR Mission: Preparing for an International Space Station Launch

International audienceSince the beginning of the space era, a significant amount of debris has progressively been generated in space. Active Debris Removal (ADR) missions have been suggested as a way of limiting and controlling future growth in orbital space debris by actively sending up vehicles to remove debris. The EC FP7 RemoveDebris mission, which started in 2013, draws on the expertise of some of Europe's most prominent space institutions in order to demonstrate key ADR technologies in a low-cost ambitious manner. The RemoveDebris mission launches to the International Space Station (ISS) in late 2017 where shortly after it will be deployed via the NanoRacks Kaber system into an orbit of around 400 km. The mission will perform its core demonstrations sequentially, utilising two CubeSats as artificial debris targets: net capture, harpoon capture, vision-based navigation , dragsail de-orbiting. The mission comes to an end in 2018 with all space entities having naturally de-orbited. This paper is split into the following parts: (a) an overview of the mission segments, (b) a discussion on launch procedures, (c) an overview of the operations sequence and demonstration timelines. The second section will focus on the specifics of the launch via NanoRacks and respective the NASA safety reviews. The third section will outline the planned operational timelines for the payloads. There will be a focus on what demonstrations will be performed and what types of data will be collected. The RemoveDebris mission aims to be one of the world's first in-orbit demonstrations of key technologies for active debris removal and is a vital prerequisite to achieving the ultimate goal of a cleaner Earth orbital environment

The SURPRISE demonstrator: a super-resolved compressive instrument in the visible and medium infrared for Earth Observation

While Earth Observation (EO) data has become ever more vital to understanding the planet and addressing societal challenges, applications are still limited by revisit time and spatial resolution. Though low Earth orbit missions can achieve resolutions better than 100 m, their revisit time typically stands at several days, limiting capacity to monitor dynamic events. Geostationary (GEO) missions instead typically provide data on an hour-basis but with spatial resolution limited to 1 km, which is insufficient to understand local phenomena. In this paper, we present the SURPRISE project - recently funded in the frame of the H2020 programme – that gathers the expertise from eight partners across Europe to implement a demonstrator of a super-spectral EO payload - working in the visible (VIS) - Near Infrared (NIR) and in the Medium InfraRed (MIR) and conceived to operate from GEO platform -with enhanced performance in terms of at-ground spatial resolution, and featuring innovative on-board data processing and encryption functionalities. This goal will be achieved by using Compressive Sensing (CS) technology implemented via Spatial Light Modulators (SLM). SLM-based CS technology will be used to devise a super-resolution configuration that will be exploited to increase the at-ground spatial resolution of the payload, without increasing the number of detector’s sensing elements at the image plane. The CS approach will offer further advantages for handling large amounts of data, as is the case of superspectral payloads with wide spectral and spatial coverage. It will enable fast on-board processing of acquired data for information extraction, as well as native data encryption on top of native compression. SURPRISE develops two disruptive technologies: Compressive Sensing (CS) and Spatial Light Modulator (SLM). CS optimises data acquisition (e.g. reduced storage and transmission bandwidth requirements) and enables novel onboard processing and encryption functionalities. SLM here implements the CS paradigm and achieves a super-resolution architecture. SLM technology, at the core of the CS architecture, is addressed by: reworking and testing off-the-shelf parts in relevant environment; developing roadmap for a European SLM, micromirror array-type, with electronics suitable for space qualification. By introducing for the first time the concept of a payload with medium spatial resolution (few hundreds of meters) and near continuous revisit (hourly), SURPRISE can lead to a EO major breakthrough and complement existing operational services. CS will address the challenge of large data collection, whilst onboard processing will improve timeliness, shortening time needed to extract information from images and possibly generate alarms. Impact is relevant to industrial competitiveness, with potential for market penetration of the demonstrator and its components

Relations interculturelles en Grande Grèce et Sicile

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FOSTERNAV: Flash Optical Sensor for Terrain Relative Navigation

Let’s embrace space, volume II - Space Research achievements under the 7th Framework Programme is published by the Space Research and Development Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Industry and Enterprise

Pottery and cultural borders in Magna Graecia and Sicily

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La visibilité des classes subalternes dans les sources archéologiques. Considérations sur quelques cas d’étude en Grande Grèce

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