ESA tests rendezvous and docking hardware at ESTEC

ESA has tested new rendezvous and docking interface hardware at ESTEC, its technical centre in the Netherlands. The trial used two robotic arms, camera systems and simulated spacecraft to evaluate approach and docking.

The rendezvous trials were hosted by ESA's Guidance, Navigation and Control Laboratory. The agency's Orbital Robotics Laboratory handled the docking part of the simulation.

The test rig used two robotic arms on 33-m rails. One arm held the approaching spacecraft's navigation unit, developed by The Exploration Company, while the other held a French-built scale model of a target client spacecraft from Thales Alenia Space.

The servicer-simulating platform weighed about 180 kg, with another 20 kg attached on each side.

Two camera systems were tested, moving a servicing vehicle from hundreds of metres away to a few centimetres. The navigation camera locked onto black-and-white markers resembling QR codes on the target's interface side.

The docking mechanism started four centimetres from the client's passive capture interface and locked onto it. The two ports, one for refilling and one for power and data transfer, connected to their counterparts.

The models were suspended in a long dark room with a single lamp representing the Sun. Air bearings sent air toward the floor to form a micrometre-scale air gap, letting platforms float without friction.

ESA is working with industry on interfaces that allow satellites to approach, recognise each other and dock. The Exploration Company is partnered with Sener, GMV, Almatech, Thales Alenia Space and CDS.

ESA is pursuing operations in which spacecraft can rendezvous, dock, refuel, be repaired and recalibrated, and then be repurposed for new missions indefinitely. The agency is also developing standards for an open, interoperable and modular ecosystem, aimed at all spacecraft manufacturers.

For readers tracking the lunar industry, the tests matter because they check hardware tied to rendezvous, docking, refuelling and repurposing. The work involves ESA and industry partners, including The Exploration Company with Sener, GMV, Almatech, Thales Alenia Space and CDS.