Multi-agent spacecraft system for rendezvous and proximity operations

A method of operating a multi-agent spacecraft system for rendezvous and proximity operations, the method comprising:

• a chief spacecraft maneuvering to an orbit of a Resident Space Object (RSO);
• the chief spacecraft deploying a deputy spacecraft to rendezvous with the RSO;
• the deputy spacecraft maneuvering to the RSO;
• the deputy spacecraft sensing the RSO during a rendezvous and proximity operations maneuver;
• the deputy spacecraft generating a Three-Dimensional (3D) surface reconstruction of the RSO based on the sensing;
• the deputy spacecraft determining a roll rate and a relative trajectory of the RSO based on the sensing;
• and
• the deputy spacecraft returning to the chief spacecraft.

One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media having program instructions stored thereon to operate a deputy spacecraft for rendezvous and proximity operations wherein the program instructions, when executed by a computing system, direct the computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

• receiving a flight plan that comprises an ingress trajectory, a task trajectory, and an egress trajectory;
• in response to deploying from a chief spacecraft, directing a propulsion system to implement the ingress trajectory to rendezvous with a Resident Space Object (RSO);
• directing an attitude system to point to the RSO based on the task trajectory;
• utilizing an imaging system to image the RSO;
• generating feature vectors that represent key points in the images of the RSO;
• inputting the feature vectors into a machine learning engine that comprises algorithms trained to generate a Three-Dimensional (3D) surface reconstruction and determine a roll rate and a relative trajectory of the RSO based on the images;
• receiving a machine learning output that comprises the 3D surface reconstruction, the roll rate, and the relative trajectory of the RSO;
• and
• directing the propulsion system to implement the egress trajectory to return to the chief spacecraft wherein the deputy spacecraft docks with the chief spacecraft upon its return.