Design and development status of ETS-7, an RVD and space robot experiment satellite

Abstract

ETS-7 (Engineering Test Satellite #7) is an experimental satellite for the in-orbit experiment of the Rendezvous Docking (RVD) and the space robot (RBT) technologies. ETS-7 is a set of two satellites, a chaser satellite and a target satellite. Both satellites will be launched together by NASDA's H-2 rocket into a low earth orbit. Development of ETS-7 started in 1990. Basic design and EM (Engineering Model) development are in progress now in 1994. The satellite will be launched in mid 1997 and the above in-orbit experiments will be conducted for 1.5 years. Design of ETS-7 RBT experiment system and development status are described in this paper.