Feature-Based Assessment of Passive Spacecraft Dynamics During Removal Missions

One of the key functionalities required in a mission for removing a noncooperative spacecraft is the assessment of its kinematics and inertial properties. In a few cases, this information can be approximated by ground observations. However, a reassessment after the rendezvous phase is of critical importance for refining the capture strategies. This paper proposes a set of measurement methods to estimate the location of the center of mass, the angular rate, and the moments of inertia of a passive object. These methods require the chaser spacecraft to be capable of tracking a few known features of the target through passive vision sensors. They can be applied considering a chaser spacecraft flying close to the target for a time long enough to complete the measurement. Because of the harsh lighting conditions of the space environment, feature-based methods should tolerate temporary failure in detecting features. The principal works on this topic do not consider this important aspect, making it a distinctive ...