751 
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A FRAMEWORK OF RELATIVE NAVIGATION SYSTEM FOR 
NON-COOPERATIVE TARGET USING DUAL-CCD 
JIANG Gang-wu*, JIANG Ting, WANG Jing 
Zhengzhou Institute of Surveying and Mapping,Zhengzhou,Henan,China-jianggw@163.com 
Commission III, ThS-22 
KEY WORDS: Navigation, Photogrammetry, Simulation, CCD, Non-cooperative target, Satellite 
ABSTRACT: 
The relative navigation of space non-cooperative target has great important practical value and vast prospect in application. The 
space non-cooperative target refer to some space flight objects which cannot provide effective cooperative information, which 
includes fault or disabled satellite, space debris, hostile spacecraft and so on. A set of stable and reliable relative navigation system 
is indispensable when real-time observing or monitoring the space non-cooperative target by steady and dependable tracking flight. 
Different from the relative navigation for cooperative target, non-cooperative target cannot provide any cooperative information so 
that traditional surveying method using single CCD and optical feature points cannot be used. Based on the theories in 
Astrodynamics and Photogrammetry, a prototype framework of relative navigation system using dual-CCD is advanced in the paper, 
which includes the following parts: analysis and design for relative spacecraft orbit, quick image matching based on features, 3D 
reconstruction and registration for non-cooperative target, real-time relative navigation solution and a test platform of numerical 
simulation. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
With the development of probing, exploiting and using outer 
space, space autonomous on-orbit service has gradually been a 
problem which needs to be solved urgently at present. The 
space non-cooperative target refer to some space flight objects 
which cannot provide effective cooperative information, which 
includes fault or disabled satellite, space debris, hostile 
spacecraft and so on. A set of stable and reliable relative 
navigation system is indispensable when real-time observing or 
monitoring the space non-cooperative target by steady and 
dependable tracking flight. That is to say, the relative location 
and attitude between non-cooperative target and the tracking 
spacecraft can be surveyed precisely. Especially at the final 
approximation stage of a task, the precision is the decisive 
factor to the success of the task. 
Different from the relative navigation and rendezvous for 
cooperative target, non-cooperative target has no target 
identifiers (such as optical feature points) and proximity sensors, 
so the relative navigation for non-cooperative target is 
especially difficult and the traditional surveying method using 
single CCD cannot provide any reliable and precise relative 
navigation parameters. However, the problem will be solved 
effectively if using dual-CCD. Moreover, in the future, mini 
space mobile platform need autonomous relative navigation 
system based on dual-CCD. The platform has rigorous limit in 
the volumes, weights and consumptions of relative navigation 
equipments because of its minitype, so some relative navigation 
sensors, such as microwave radar, rendezvous LIDAR, will be 
confined to use but dual-CCD and relevant equipments can 
meet the need. 
The relative navigation surveying for space targets meets the 
need of spacecraft rendezvous and docking. On-orbit spacecraft 
rendezvous and docking have been practiced about 200 times in 
U.S.A and U.S.S.R. (Russia) since the 1960s. Usually, 
autonomous rendezvous and docking can select different 
surveying sensors according to different stages and different 
navigation information. On the final proximity stage, optical 
imaging sensor is generally as the main navigation sensor at 
present because it can provide relative location, relative attitude, 
relative velocity, relative angular velocity and other navigation 
information which meet the need of the guidance, navigation 
and control systems. Currently, there are mainly five optical 
imaging sensors which can be used into autonomous 
rendezvous and docking: Advanced Video Guidance Sensors 
made in U.S.A, Proximity Camera Sensors in Japan, 
Videometer in ESA, Optical Electronic System in Russia and 
CCD optical imaging sensors in China [1-3]. 
The above methods are used in the relative navigation for 
cooperative target. In U.S.A., the relevant researches on relative 
navigation for non-cooperative target have been carried out for 
a long time. As a representative achievement, XSS satellite 
series are jointly developed by Air Force Research Laboratory, 
Air Force Space and Missile System Centre, Navy Research 
Laboratory and other organizations [4]. The target of the 
research is to develop a kind of autonomous micro-satellite 
which can fulfil on-orbit checking, rendezvous and docking and 
revolving round objects on orbit. Two micro-satellites are 
projected in XSS satellite series which are XSS-10 and XSS-11. 
In two satellites, a set of 3D image surveying system, Visual 
Camera System, is equipped which uses dual-CCD to 
accomplish autonomous relative navigation surveying. 
However, relevant detailed materials about the project are 
"Corresponding author: JIANG Gang-wu, E-mail: jianggw@163.com, Tel: (86)371-6353 6093.