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Low-impact mating system for docking spacecraft
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Lewis, James L. Morales, Ray Robertson, Brandan Carroll, Monty B. Le, Thang |
| Copyright Year | 2008 |
| Description | A document describes a low-impact mating system suitable for both docking (mating of two free-flying spacecraft) and berthing (in which a robot arm in one spacecraft positions an object for mating with either spacecraft). The low-impact mating system is fully androgynous: it mates with a copy of itself, i.e., all spacecraft and other objects to be mated are to be equipped with identical copies of the system. This aspect of the design helps to minimize the number of unique parts and to standardize and facilitate mating operations. The system includes a closed-loop feedback control subsystem that actively accommodates misalignments between mating spacecraft, thereby attenuating spacecraft dynamics and mitigating the need for precise advance positioning of the spacecraft. The operational characteristics of the mating system can be easily configured in software, during operation, to enable mating of spacecraft having various masses, center-of-gravity offsets, and closing velocities. The system design provides multi-fault tolerance for critical operations: for example, to ensure unmating at a critical time, a redundant unlatching mechanism and two independent pyrotechnic release subsystems are included. |
| File Size | 83762 |
| Page Count | 2 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20090016251 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t3mw7dj3d |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2008-06-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance Robot Arms Fault Tolerance Alignment Feedback Control Spacecraft Docking Systems Engineering Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |
