IN-SITU MEASUREMENT OF DEBRIS KINEMATICS AND INERTIAL PROPERTIES DURING ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL MISSION

One of the key functionalities required by an Active Debris Removal mission is the assessment of the target kinematics and inertial properties. Although in some cases this information can be gathered with a sufficient accuracy from ground observation before the mission takes place, it may anyway be very useful to achieve a confirmation or a re-assessment in order to refine the rendez-vous and capture strategy so that the overall risk of accidents during such mission phases is mitigated. The methodology presented in this paper is based on images achieved by the chaser (i.e. the spacecraft which performs the rendez-vous and capture), for instance by means of stereoscopic cameras in visible field, cameras in infra-red field and Time-Of Flight camera. The image processing shall enables the extraction and tracking on subsequent images of some specific point on the target external surface, which is the basis for the relative target-chaser pose, thus kinematics, estimation. A set of methods and algorithms were developed for the complete estimation of the kinematics and dynamics of the target. For such methodologies validation is pursued with the goal to reach TRL 4 (functional demonstration in laboratory environment). This will be achieved through the development of an experimental test setup to simulate the motion of the target body and to observe it by means of the above mentioned kind of sensor