Ground tests of a rendezvous maneuver based on visual servoing

The problem of autonomous space rendezvous and docking is faced from both a numerical and an experimental point of view. A 2D free floating chaser platform has been equipped with a docking system and a camera dedicated to relative navigation with respect to a target platform. The image processing and filtering algorithms are processed in real time so that the target is identified and tracked, and the relative longitudinal and lateral displacements are evaluated. The GNC algorithms are first tested by means of a numerical tool where a multibody plant is modeled, so that contact forces and relevant post-contact dynamics can be accurately predicted. The experimental tests of the same GNC algorithms show the accuracy of the vision-based navigation, and the robustness of the docking strategy even with respect to some disturbances, such as the plume impingement effect, that were not included in the numerical model.