Abstract

Rendezvous and proximity operations are becoming increasingly relevant due to the growing number of objects orbiting and the potential capabilities they enable. However, access to space to perform those activities is prohibited due to cost, risk, and difficulty. This work presents a developed Test-bed to mimic Rendezvous and Proximity Operation scenarios. We emulate elements such as light conditions, and with full six degrees of freedom for the spacecraft mockups. This facility allows an accessible space for developing and testing hardware and techniques in space. In particular, we are interested in studying Sensor Fusion techniques using the test-bed. Here, we introduce the main components of the test-bed facility. Then, we include the sensor fusion hardware description and describe how this is evaluated using the developed facility. The goal is to demonstrate that the test bed enables the testing of different …

Date

2026

Authors

Cristobal Garrido, David Barnhart

Conference

2026 IEEE Aerospace Conference

Pages

1-9

Publisher

IEEE