A ground-based robotic testbed, Cosmic Lab, for validating vision-based Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) systems used in satellite servicing.
In-Orbit Test Bed (Cosmic Lab)
A ground-based robotic testbed, Cosmic Lab, for validating vision-based Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) systems used in satellite servicing.
Description
Lúnasa's In-Orbit Test Bed, branded Cosmic Lab, is an advanced ground-based testbed for validating rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) technologies before they fly. It provides a robotic simulation environment for testing and validating vision-based Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) systems used in satellite servicing missions, allowing engineers to study how RPO hardware responds to changing conditions such as lighting and the relative orientation of chaser and target satellites.
The facility features two 6-degree-of-freedom modular robotic arms (payload capacity up to 30 kg each) with 0.05 mm positioning accuracy, a linear traverser for dynamic positioning, and adjustable lighting in a blackout room. The testbed spans 7 metres with an arm reach of up to 1.3 metres, runs at a 500 Hz control frequency, is compatible with ROS2 and Python, and uses six motion sensors with 0.2 mm tracking accuracy. This setup allows customers to simulate a wide range of approach angles, attitudes, shadowed docking scenarios, and unexpected spacecraft movements tailored to their specific mission needs.
By enabling accessible, repeatable testing of in-space scenarios under realistic lighting, motion, and sensing conditions, Cosmic Lab helps identify potential failures early, reducing mission risk and improving the reliability of satellite servicing operations before hardware is ever launched into orbit.