The external inspection of orbiting objects, e.g. space debris and habitable outposts, with Cubesats can efficiently support a wide range of applications. Future applications can involve inspection of beyond-LEO objects, such as a cis-lunar human-tended station, that constitutes the gateway for future exploration missions. From the ISS mission, it has been understood that an inhabited outpost in space needs heavy maintenance for keeping it in operations with the required capabilities and safety level over a long-duration mission. Inspection from outside is required for investigation on detected anomalies, for structural measurements, and in general for monitoring the station configuration. Small space (semi)autonomous drones, such as CubeSats, can be deployed from transportation vehicles or from the station, and used in several phases of the station mission, flying in the vicinity of the space habitat. The study presented in this paper investigates the feasibility of operating multi-purpose small inspectors in proximity of the future lunar orbiting platform. The study focuses on the inspection / surveillance mission, for which a concept of operations and architecture have been developed and analysed. In particular, the possibility to have a 3D vision payload has been investigated to enhance inspection capabilities with respect to current state-of-the-art technology.

INSPECTION OF CIS-LUNAR STATION USING CUBESATS / Stesina, Fabrizio; Corpino, Sabrina; Calvi, Daniele; Franchi, Loris; Feruglio, Lorenzo. - ELETTRONICO. - (2018). (Intervento presentato al convegno Small Satellite Systems and Services tenutosi a Sorrento).

INSPECTION OF CIS-LUNAR STATION USING CUBESATS

Fabrizio Stesina;Sabrina Corpino;Daniele Calvi;Loris Franchi;Lorenzo Feruglio
2018

Abstract

The external inspection of orbiting objects, e.g. space debris and habitable outposts, with Cubesats can efficiently support a wide range of applications. Future applications can involve inspection of beyond-LEO objects, such as a cis-lunar human-tended station, that constitutes the gateway for future exploration missions. From the ISS mission, it has been understood that an inhabited outpost in space needs heavy maintenance for keeping it in operations with the required capabilities and safety level over a long-duration mission. Inspection from outside is required for investigation on detected anomalies, for structural measurements, and in general for monitoring the station configuration. Small space (semi)autonomous drones, such as CubeSats, can be deployed from transportation vehicles or from the station, and used in several phases of the station mission, flying in the vicinity of the space habitat. The study presented in this paper investigates the feasibility of operating multi-purpose small inspectors in proximity of the future lunar orbiting platform. The study focuses on the inspection / surveillance mission, for which a concept of operations and architecture have been developed and analysed. In particular, the possibility to have a 3D vision payload has been investigated to enhance inspection capabilities with respect to current state-of-the-art technology.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11583/2724293
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