Speaker
Description
The ClearSpace-1 mission, as one of the main activity area of the European Space Agency’s ADRIOS program, will develop a demonstration to rendezvous, capture, secure and deorbit another spacecraft. The client will be the ESA-owned PROBA-1 spacecraft, operating flawlessly meanwhile for more than 20 years. The mission is developed as an in-orbit demonstration mission funded by the European Space Agency.
The mission is the very first rendezvous and capture of an unprepared and uncooperative client satellite having no mechanical fixtures. The mission is incrementally demonstrating the key capabilities and functions required. It will demonstrate the GNC technologies required to approach an object to be removed from low Earth orbit into close proximity, inspect and characterize the space object to prepare its safe catching, demonstrate the capability of the servicer to avoid collision with the space object to be removed, demonstrate the safe capture of the space object with the servicer spacecraft in synchronized motion, and demonstrate the capability to relocate a space object.
The ClearSpace-1 servicer will use a claw-based caging system to embrace the client spacecraft and to capture it without physical contact before secure closure of the cage. This method allows to secure the client object independently of its attitude, and for a range of tumbling rates. Several sensors will be required to allow vision-based relative navigation and distance measurement before and during the approach to the client object. ClearSpace-1 will inspect PROBA-1 during fly-arounds to validate its visual-based navigation algorithms and functionality of the capture system, before rendezvousing with PROBA-1 and performing catching operations. Following catching, the servicer-client stack will need to be stabilized and secured. Finally, the servicer-client stack will lower its orbit and undergo uncontrolled re-entry within five years.
The presentation will give insight into the status of the project, its principal timeline and will explain the mission concept of operations.
