ドッキング機構の地上ハードウェア試験

澤井秀次郎(東大院)、 川口淳一郎(宇宙研)



摘要

新しいタイプのソフトドッキング機構を開発し、地上で試験を行った。
また、ハードウェアシミュレーション装置についても検討し、新しいタイプのシミュレータを
提案した。ハードウェア試験の結果、ニューラルネットワークを用いたラッチ制御の実現可能性が
確認された。



Hardware Simulation of Rendez-Vous Docking System

Shujiro Sawai University of Tokyo and 

Jun'ichiro Kawaguchi Institute of Space and 

Astronautical Science

Abstract

Ground simulation facilities for docking missions and a docking mechanism are treated in this paper. In the 

development of a docking mechanism, a ground simulation facility that demonstrates relative motion of two spacecraft 

(s/c) is a mighty and important tool. Such a simulator shall 1) reproduce relative motion rigorously and, 2) be able to 

cope with various simulation conditions easily. At the study of docking mechanisms, first of all, existing simulator 

ideas were surveyed. As a result, it was revealed that conventional simulators are not so sufficient when it comes to 

soft-docking with flexible structures. To overcome this difficulty, a new type hardware simulator designated as 

'servo-free type' was proposed. As for the docking mechanism itself, a new soft-docking mechanism was proposed. Its 

target module has four perches placed in a circle, while the chaser module has corresponding four mating mechanisms;

diagonal two of them are ordinary latches that grasp the perches of the target s/c, and the others are just grooves in 

which the perches fit. In spite of its less redundancy, this mechanism works well and is found simpler and lighter than 

conventional ones. Hardware tests proved the feasibility of a latch controller based on a neural network scheme.

Further study is planned, in which a complete Rendez-Vous (RVD) system of the visual sensor and the docking 

mechanism is tested by a 'servo-free type' simulator.