A Parallel Simulation System for Space Operations

Space operations, such as non-cooperative target capture, on-orbit maintenance and in-space assembly, are the focus of the current research in recent years. This paper presents the design of a parallel simulation system for space operations mission verification. It is composed of spacecraft dynamic simulation system, space situation simulation system, visual display system and task management system. Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) standard is used to achieve multidisciplinary models coupling and interactivity among the different modelling tools or programming languages. With this system, space mission sceneries could be built efficiently by defining composition of spacecraft, parameterizing space environment, scripting mission procession, and configuring visual scene. A typical space operation mission about a dual-arm space robot capturing an on-orbit target was implemented to demonstrate the functions of the parallel simulation system.