Analisi e modellizzazione di un sistema di docking aerospaziale = Analysis and modeling of an aerospace docking system

The project SAPERE-STONG (“Sistemi Tecnologie e Ricerche per l’Operatività Nazionale Globale”) aims to increase the Italian spacial operativity with the purpose of improving spacial accessibility and exploration. In particular, the object of the project is to develop an electrical propulsion space tug that is able to catch satellite platform in order to make on-orbit operation of refurbishment and repairng or to transfer cargo and crew. This dissertation focuses on a side of this project: the docking operation. A docking mechanism is a particular device that allows a mechanical coupling between two spacecrafts: a servicer and a costumer satellite. The introduction shows the principal docking mechanisms built from 1960 to nowadays. Firstly, starting from a docking mechanism with a probe and drogue architecture, already designed and developed from Thales Alenia Space s.p.a. - the prime contractor of the STRONG’s project- , the control architecture suitable for the operation is described and the computer programming used to drive the motors that provide to execute a succefull docking manuever is expleined. In the second part, a model of the system was made through the software Matlab/Simulink/Simscape, where the contact between the active and passive part of the docking system is simulated. Some obtained results have been compared with the experimental data in the laboratory. The conclusions highlight the future developments that this research topic could have.