The Successful Development of an Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C) System for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

During the 1990's, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) conducted pioneering research in the development of an automated rendezvous and capture/docking (AR&C) system for U.S. space vehicles. Development and demonstration of a rendezvous sensor was identified early in the AR&C Program as the critical enabling technology that allows automated proximity operations and docking. A first generation rendezvous sensor, the Video Guidance Sensor (VGS), was developed and successfully flown on STS-87 and STS-95, proving the concept of a video- based sensor. A ground demonstration of the entire system and software was successfully tested. Advances in both video and signal processing technologies and the lessons learned from the two successful flight experiments provided a baseline for the development, by the MSFC, of a new generation of video based rendezvous sensor. The Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (AGS) has greatly increased performance and additional capability for longer-range operation with a new target designed as a direct replacement for existing ISS hemispherical reflectors.