Concepts and technology development for the autonomous assembly and reconfiguration of modular space systems

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2006.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rodgers, Lennon Patrick
Other Authors: David W. Wallace.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35634
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author Rodgers, Lennon Patrick
author2 David W. Wallace.
author_facet David W. Wallace.
Rodgers, Lennon Patrick
author_sort Rodgers, Lennon Patrick
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description Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2006.
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spelling mit-1721.1/356342019-04-12T15:39:53Z Concepts and technology development for the autonomous assembly and reconfiguration of modular space systems Rodgers, Lennon Patrick David W. Wallace. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (p. 144-149). This thesis will present concepts of modular space systems, including definitions and specific examples of how modularity has been incorporated into past and present space missions. In addition, it will present two architectures that utilize modularity in more detail to serve as examples of possible applications. The first example is a fully modular spacecraft design, which has standardized and reconfigurable components with multiple decoupled subsystems. This concept was developed into a testbed called Self-assembling Wireless Autonomous and Reconfigurable Modules (SWARM). This project sought to demonstrate the use of modular spacecraft in a laboratory environment, and to investigate the "cost," or penalty, of modularity. The second example investigates the on-orbit assembly of a segmented primary mirror, which is part of a large space-based telescope. The objective is to compare two methods for assembling the mirror. The first method uses a propellant-based spacecraft to move the segments from a central stowage stack to the mirror assembly. The second is an electromagnetic-based method that uses superconducting electromagnetic coils as a means of applying force and torque between two assembling vehicles to produce the same results as the propellant-based system. (cont.) Fully modular systems could have the ability to autonomously assemble and reconfigure in space. This ability will certainly involve very complex rendezvous and docking maneuvers that will require advanced docking ports and sensors. To this end, this thesis investigates the history of docking ports, and presents a comprehensive list of functional requirements. It then describes the design and implementation of the Universal Docking Port (UDP). Lastly, it explores the development of an optical docking sensor called the Miniature Video Docking Sensor (MVDS), which uses a set of infrared LED's, a miniature CCD-based video camera, and an Extended Kalman Filter to determine the six relative degrees of freedom of two docking vehicles. It uses the Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) to demonstrate this fully integrated docking system. by Lennon Patrick Rodgers. S.M. 2007-01-10T16:53:25Z 2007-01-10T16:53:25Z 2006 2006 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35634 76701328 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 149 p. 6538963 bytes 6545207 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Mechanical Engineering.
Rodgers, Lennon Patrick
Concepts and technology development for the autonomous assembly and reconfiguration of modular space systems
title Concepts and technology development for the autonomous assembly and reconfiguration of modular space systems
title_full Concepts and technology development for the autonomous assembly and reconfiguration of modular space systems
title_fullStr Concepts and technology development for the autonomous assembly and reconfiguration of modular space systems
title_full_unstemmed Concepts and technology development for the autonomous assembly and reconfiguration of modular space systems
title_short Concepts and technology development for the autonomous assembly and reconfiguration of modular space systems
title_sort concepts and technology development for the autonomous assembly and reconfiguration of modular space systems
topic Mechanical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35634
work_keys_str_mv AT rodgerslennonpatrick conceptsandtechnologydevelopmentfortheautonomousassemblyandreconfigurationofmodularspacesystems