Using Industrial Robots for Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation of Spacecraft Rendezvous and Docking

One of the most challenging and risky operations for spacecraft is to perform proximity Rendezvous and Docking (R&D) autonomously in space. To ensure a safe and reliable operation, such a mission must be carefully designed and thoroughly verified before a real space mission can be launched. This paper describes the control strategy for achieving high fidelity contact dynamics simulation of a new, robotics-based, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) R&D simulation facility which uses two industrial robots to simulate the 6-DOF dynamic maneuvering of the two docking satellites. The facility is capable of physically simulating the final approaching within a 25-meter range and the entire docking or capturing process in a satellite on-orbit servicing mission. The paper discusses the difficulties of using industrial robots for HIL contact dynamics simulation and the proposed robot control strategy for dealing with these difficulties.