Entry, Descent, and Landing GN&C System Evaluation via Cable-Driven Emulation Robotics

Abstract

View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-2325.vid An innovative cable-driven parallel robot named the Six Degree-of-Freedom Tendon Actuated Robot (STAR), recently developed by researchers at NASA Johnson Space Center, was built to enable entry, descent, and landing (EDL) emulation experiments. Upon functional testing and system verification, STAR employed several simulated EDL trajectories to validate velocimeter LIDAR-based sensor models for cooperative terrain relative navigation applications for its first testing campaign. The STAR lab also hosted researchers from Astrobotic to evaluate the real-time performance of a newly developed sensor payload, UltraNav, through hardware in-the-loop-testing (HWIL). This work introduces the STAR system along with its accompanying testing utilities and capabilities, and deliver the experimental methodology and results of test campaigns performed with the STAR facility to date.