Browse Topic: Spacecraft guidance

Items (20)

TBMG-3699906/01/2020

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has developed FlashPose, a relative navigation measurement software and VHDL for spaceflight missions requiring vehicle-relative and terrain-relative navigation and control. FlashPose processes real-time or recorded range and intensity images from 3D imaging sensors, such as LiDARs, and compares them to known models of the target surfaces to output the position and orientation of the known target relative to the sensor coordinate frame. All algorithmic processing takes place in the software application, while custom FPGA firmware interfaces directly with the Ball Vision Navigation System (VNS) LiDAR and provides imagery to the algorithm.

Docking System Enables Safe Rendezvous in Space

TBMG-3561412/01/2019

Even though it has been done many times before, the docking maneuver between two objects in space is always a delicate and potentially dangerous procedure. The speed is extremely high (about 28,000 km/h in the case of the International Space Station, or ISS), and corrections are difficult. When the two objects are about to meet, maneuvering thrusters can no longer be used since their exhaust plumes can cause damage. To prevent harm, cargo transporters are caught by a robotic arm installed in the ISS and berthed manually. Manned spacecraft, on the other hand, dock directly in a computer-controlled process.

Ray Optics Simulation of Inertial Navigation Systems

TBMG-3328511/01/2018

Attitude detection is a crucial element in aircraft and spacecraft navigation. The motion of an aircraft consists of a translational component (motion of its center of mass with respect to the Earth) and a rotational component (rotation of the aircraft around its center of mass). Attitude detection is the measurement of the rotational component of the aircraft's motion, and depending on the mission this measurement might need to be extremely accurate. Advances in computer simulation technology have made it easier than ever to set up high-fidelity numerical simulations of inertial navigation and attitude control systems of the type typically found aboard aircraft and spacecraft.

Advanced Numerical Integration Techniques for High-Fidelity SDE Spacecraft Simulation

TBMG-2389602/01/2016

Simulation study is an integral part of the validation of navigation algorithms for spacecraft. While it is possible to come up with an estimate of a navigation algorithm’s performance with a low-fidelity system model, the mathematical analysis is intractable for higher-fidelity models that include fuel slosh, flexible booms, sensor saturation, etc. Thus simulation study is a vital step in validating navigation algorithms before an actual satellite is launched.

Advanced Navigation Strategies for Asteroid Sample Return Missions

TBMG-21276

01/01/2015

Sample-return missions to primitive solar system bodies (asteroids, comets, and planetary satellites) can provide a wealth of scientific information and insight into the composition and origins of the solar system. Recent interest in primitive body missions has been driven by the possibility of human near-Earth object missions, Earth conjunction analysis, and scientific discovery. Precision navigation to acquire a sample from a primitive solar system body and return it to Earth presents unique challenges beyond traditional Earth-based and interplanetary missions.