MIV TOOL: A RENDEZ-VOUS SIMULATOR FOR MANOEUVRING OF AN INSPECTION VEHICLE IN GEO

In the frame of the studies ESA is currently conducting on the servicing of non-cooperative spacecraft in geostationary orbits, a simulator is being set up to support the analysis and development of safe techniques for Manoeuvring, during approach and circumflight, an Inspection Vehicle (MIV tool), including on-board and teleoperated control.

The main aspects of the study include the design of the automatic and teleoperated GNC, with allocation of tasks to the space and ground segment and to the Human Operator (HO), the Man Machine Interface (MMI), a sophisticated model of the on-board CCD camera for medium and short range navigation and the related Image Analysis.

The simulator is highly modular and portable: part of it can run either stand-alone on a personal computer or workstation or integrated in different design environments, such as EuroSim and Matrix-x.Keywords: GNC (Guidance, Navigation and Control), IA (Image Analysis), MMI (Man Machine Interface), RVD (Rendez-Vous and Docking).