Free Flyer Capture – New Robotic Challenges from the International Space Station
- Paper number
IAC-06-B4.2.08
- Author
Ms. Charladean Smith, Canadian Space Agency, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Jason Seagram, Canadian Space Agency, Canada
- Year
2006
- Abstract
Beginning early 2009, the International Space Station (ISS) will be visited by the Japanese built H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). Like the Russian Progress and ESA’s ATV, the HTV is an automated, unmanned transfer vehicle that will provide resupply capability to the ISS. The HTV is unique, however, in being the first vehicle to visit the ISS that will be unable to dock on its own, requiring assistance from the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to complete its successful rendezvous with the ISS. Free flyer capture by a remote manipulator system (RMS) has been completed successfully many times in the past. Payloads such as the Spartan, the Hubble Telescope, and the Wake Shield Facility (WFS) are prime examples of free flyers successfully captured by the RMS of the Space Shuttle. The experience gained from such captures, including the lessons learned, has provided a foundation for the operational concept of capturing free flyers. However, additional complications arise in the concept of free flyer capture when carried out by the SSRMS from the ISS. Such issues include: ISS maneuverability and the difficulty of the ISS to quickly react to collision avoidance; current hardware and architecture design constraints of the SSRMS on-orbit; and HTV retreat and re-rendezvous limitations. These issues generate numerous challenges when trying to ensure that the safety of the ISS is maintained, in addition to, trying to guarantee the successful capture of a vehicle containing potentially critical equipment and supplies for the ISS and its crew. Consequently, SSRMS system enhancements as well as innovative operational solutions have been necessary to meet the failure tolerance and recovery requirements and enhance the probability of mission success. This paper will discuss what makes ISS-based free flyer capture different from Shuttle-based concepts. It will highlight the SSRMS system enhancements required in order to make free flyer capture possible. Moreover, it will discuss the unique operational concepts developed to assist the SSRMS operator and robotics flight control team to meet the challenge of safely capturing the HTV as a free flyer.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-B4.2.08.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.