Monocular Vision-Based Pose Estimation of Uncooperative Spacecraft

Activities in outer space have entered a new era of growth, fostering human development and improving key Earth-based applications such as remote sensing, navigation, and telecommunication. The recent creation of SpaceX's Starlink constellation as well as the steep increase in CubeSat launches are expected to revolutionize the way we use space...

Evaluation of tightly- and loosely-coupled approaches in CNN-based pose estimation systems for uncooperative spacecraft

The relative pose estimation of an inactive spacecraft by an active servicer spacecraft is a critical task in the design of current and planned space missions, due to its relevance for close-proximity operations, such as In-Orbit Servicing and Active Debris Removal. This paper introduces a novel framework to enable robust monocular pose...

Review of the robustness and applicability of monocular pose estimation systems for relative navigation with an uncooperative spacecraft

The relative pose estimation of an inactive target by an active servicer spacecraft is a critical task in the design of current and planned space missions, due to its relevance for close-proximity operations, i.e. the rendezvous with a space debris and/or in-orbit servicing. Pose estimation systems based solely on a monocular camera are...