Test results for the Automated Rendezvous and Capture system

The Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C) system was designed and tested at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to demonstrate technologies and mission strategies for automated rendezvous and docking of spacecraft in Earth orbit. The system incorporates some of the latest innovations in Global Positioning System (GPS) space navigation, laser sensor technologies and automated mission sequencing algorithms. The system's initial design and integration was completed in 1998 and underwent testing in 1999. This paper describes the major components of the AR&C system and presents results from the official system tests performed in MSFC's Flight Robotics Laboratory with digital simulations and hardware in the loop tests. The results show that the AR&C system can safely and reliably perform automated rendezvous and docking missions in the absence of system failures. When system failures were included, the system used its automated collision avoidance logic to recover in a safe manner. The primary objective of the AR&C project is to prove that by designing a safe and robust automated system, mission operations cost can be reduced by decreasing the personnel required for mission design, preflight planning and training required for crewed rendezvous and docking missions.