The OOS-SIM: An on-ground simulation facility for on-orbit servicing robotic operations

On-orbit servicing involves a new class of space missions in which a servicer spacecraft is launched into the orbit of a target spacecraft, the client. The servicer navigates to the client with the intention of manipulating it, using a robotic arm. Within this framework, this work presents a new robotic experimental facility which was recently built at the DLR to support the development and experimental validation of such orbital servicing robots. The facility allows reproducing a close-proximity scenario under realistic three-dimensional orbital dynamics conditions. Its salient features are described here, to include a fully actuated macro-micro system with multiple sensing capabilities, and analyses on its performance including the amount of space environment volume that can be simulated.