Contact dynamics simulations for robotic servicing of Hubble Space Telescope

Abstract

This paper addresses contact dynamics simulations for a Hubble Robotic Servicing mission. First, the modeling of the robotic system is introduced. The simulation models of the robotic system include: flexible body dynamics, control system models and geometric models of the contacting bodies. These models are incorporated into MDA's simulation facility, the multibody dynamics simulator "Space Station Portable Operations Training Simulator (SPOTS)". Three contact dynamics simulation examples of the robotic servicing operations are presented: (1) capture of the Hubble Space Telescope, (2) berthing the Hubble Space Telescope to the Hubble Robotic Vehicle and (3) inserting the Wide Field Camera into the Hubble Space Telescope.