Increasing complexity and costs of satellite missions
promote the idea of extending the operational lifetime or
improving functionalities/performance of a satellite in
orbit instead of simply replacing it by a new one.
Further, satellites in orbit can severely be affected by
aging or degradation of their components and systems as
well as by consumption of available resources. These
problems may be solved by satellite on-orbit servicing
missions. One of the critical issues of such a mission is
to ensure a safe and reliable Rendezvous and Docking
(RvD) operation performed autonomously in space. Due
to the high risk associated with an RvD operation, it must
be carefully analyzed, simulated and verified in detail
before the real space mission can be launched. This
paper describes a ground-based hardware-in-the-loop
RvD simulation facility. Designed and built on 2-decade
experience of RvD experiment and testing, this unique,
high-fidelity simulation facility is capable of physically
simulating the final approach within 25-meter range and
the docking/capture process of an on-orbital servicing
mission
