Orbit Logic reports NASA has selected the company’s STK Scheduler software for the Restore-L technology demonstration mission. During its mission, the Restore-L spacecraft will demonstrate the technologies required to rendezvous with, grasp, refuel and relocate a government-owned satellite.
Restore-L chose an Orbit Logic solution because STK Scheduler’s timing and event constraint checking, along with its auto-sequencing features, will provide NASA with an adaptable, invaluable tool to perform Restore-L’s highly complex mission timeline and sequencing.
Restore-L is a technology demonstration mission planned by NASA for the in-orbit servicing and refueling of a satellite not designed to be serviced. The project is currently in formulation and planned for launch in 2022.
Given that Restore-L is both complex in its rendezvous and servicing tasks, and is being executed in low-Earth orbit, schedule visibility for radio frequency (RF) communications is critical to mission success.
Strict rulesets and mission constraints, coupled with RF communications, must be cross-referenced for specific servicing tasks and approach sequences.
STK Scheduler supports the configuration and implementation of all Restore-L scheduling constraints out-of-the-box, allowing for quick initial deployment, testing, and use in pre-launch planning, simulations, and on-orbit mission execution at a fraction of the cost of custom software development.
NASA’s Restore-L project is an ambitious, technology-rich endeavor to launch a robotic spacecraft to refuel a live satellite.
Restore-L, named to highlight how robotic servicing capabilities can return a satellite to its original proficiency, is a spacecraft equipped with the tools, technologies and techniques needed to extend satellites’ lifespans – even those not originally designed to be serviced in orbit.
The technology demonstration mission – the first of its kind in low-Earth orbit – will demonstrate a carefully curated suite of satellite servicing technologies. These in-orbit solutions for autonomous satellite rendezvous and grasping, with telerobotic-enabled refueling and satellite repositioning, could make spaceflight more sustainable, affordable and resilient.
