APPROACHES AND FLY-AROUNDS FOR SPACECRAFT PROXIMITY OPERATIONS

Proximity operations (range < 2 km) includes an approach trajectory leading to chaser spacecraft docking or robotic grappling with a target spacecraft. For current human and robotic spacecraft, low energy approaches along the target spacecraft velocity or radius vectors can be flown due to the availability of redundant sensors, and are preferred over higher energy inertial approaches. A fly-around of the target by the chaser may be performed to reach a final approach axis or to perform visual inspection. Back-out and separation (nominal or contingency) are also a part of proximity operations. A partial fly-around may be flown to reach the location of a separation burn.