What We Do?
Automated Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) is the process of a chase vehicle or spacecraft automatically (i.e., without human intervention) performing orbital rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking with a target vehicle. Other names for AR&D include Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C), Automated Rendezvous and Mating (AR&M), Autonomous Rendezvous, Proximity Operations and Docking (Autonomous RPOD), and Rendezvous and Docking or Berthing (RVD/B – this is the abbreviation used in the book Automated Rendezvous and Docking of Spacecraft.)
At MSFC, various aspects of AR&D technology are developed further and tested in both computer and hardware-in-the-loop simulations. The technologies in AR&D include autonomous mission managers; guidance, navigation and control (GN&C) system software and hardware; rendezvous sensors; docking or proximity-operations sensors; and docking/capture mechanisms.
At the Marshall Space Flight Center, AR&D development and testing occurs in these areas:
- GN&C - both orbital and proximity operations algorithms and software are developed and tested
- Rendezvous sensors – various technologies for the rendezvous phase are explored (GPS, laser rangefinders, RF)
- Docking sensors – different technologies for docking sensors are developed and tested (Video Guidance Sensor, camera sensors, LIDAR systems).
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