Uncooperative Spacecraft Pose Estimation Using an Infrared Camera During Proximity Operations

This paper presents the design of a pose estimation method for autonomous robotic proximity operations with an uncooperative target using a single infrared camera and a simple three-dimensional model of the target. Specically, the presented method makes use of the so-called SoftPOSIT algorithm to solve the model-to-image registration problem. This particular method is found to be most useful for ranges where surface features are not well resolved, that is, from approximately 30 to 500 meters. The proposed solution is validated in preliminary numerical simulations using low-resolution CAD models of Envisat and ISS that emulate IR images, and obtained results are reported and discussed.