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Orbital Express Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (AVGS)

The Orbital Express Demonstrator Spacecraft, due to launch in early March, is a joint effort designed to test the feasibility of refueling, repairing, and servicing on-orbit spacecraft. The experimental package is made up of two spacecraft, the Autonomous Space Transport Robotic Operations service vehicle (ASTRO) and the next generation serviceable satellite, known as NextSat. ASTRO is designed to be the chase vehicle and NextSat will be the vehicle to be serviced.

Overseen by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), with Boeing Advanced Systems as the prime integrator, several companies are providing key pieces of the experimental spacecraft. These include a docking capture system, robot arm, fluid transfer and propulsion system, as well as a sensor system that includes the Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (AVGS) developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. This sensor is designed to allow the two mated spacecraft to separate, perform maneuvers and then re-mate, all without human intervention. The AVGS is designed to work at short-range and works in concert with the Autonomous Rendezvous and Capture Sensor System (ARCSS) that includes long, mid- and close range sensors.

Automated Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) capability is important to future space operations because of the need for efficient systems that can conserve fuel, provide backup rendezvous and proximity operations in the event of an emergency, and provide guidance and navigation data beyond low-earth orbit.  To learn more through the updated stories, click on the link below.

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