Ground Robotic Platform for Simulation of On-Orbit Servicing Missions

Autonomous on-orbit servicing missions require high precision because any unwanted contact forces can cause damage to space systems. This makes the on-ground hardware-in-the-loop simulations necessary as operations must be thoroughly evaluated before such missions are carried out in space. A robotic platform is proposed, where a 3-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) robotic arm is placed atop a 6-DOF Stewart platform. A mathematical model is developed for the resulting 9-DOF redundant manipulator, and the corresponding dynamics are modeled and verified. Simulation studies are conducted using a constrained and singularity-robust pseudo-inverse control scheme, and the system’s capability to follow a scaled-down orbital trajectory is tested. The results are presented, and the future implications of this study are discussed.