Design and tests of a frictionless 2D platform for studying space navigation and control subsystems

The design of a low cost free floating platform for ground test of on orbit complex operations is presented. The authors describe the bus design and the test of the different components, such as the pressured air tanks feeding the pads - needed for low friction planar operations-, the thrusters, the software and hardware architecture. A major focus is set on the navigation system. The selection process of the inertial sensors is illustrated, with relevant test campaign, performed for assessing the gyroscope and accelerometers characteristics (white noise, bias, random walk). The accelerometers, however, do not prove to be accurate enough to permit even time limited controlled maneuvers. At the scope we add an optical sensor, and include its measurements in the Kalman filter realized to estimate the platform state. Eventually, the performance of the guide, navigation and control system applied to the assembled platform is tested by means of a series of maneuvers characterized by growing complexity: rectilinear path tracking, attitude slewing maneuver, and coordinated translation and rotational control along curvilinear trajectories.