Bazinga! Squad | Design by Nature

The Challenge | Design by Nature

Design an autonomous free-flyer to inspect a spacecraft for damage from Micro-Meteoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD).

Spider craft

Use of the innovative tecnology structured light and a system of iot sensors to support it. It is possible to localizate and look at the damage. The probe design permit both rotation and translation to have a manovrability and stop in space if necessary.

A groups of sensors can advise the system of an amergency event. This sensor are like an IOT system. So they are on the panels of the structure and with laser tecnology can discover the impact of any external body. In this way the satellite, that have to scan to area to understand the size of the damage, can act directly on it. We gain in terms of propulsions cost and simplify the trajectory of it. Thanks to Structured Light technology we can have a fast and active scan of the damage area on a spacecraft. Structured Light is an innovative idea that permits to act on the system during an emergency event. An infrared pattern is projected on the area. The sensor gives back data about profondity analysis and variation of geometry of the structure. So we can see a color picture in relation to profondity of each point of the pattern. Thinking about a system of satellites able to move in traslation and rotation at the same time, we can have a great mobility and control that permit to scan the area. Thanks to an easy program, the astronauts can control the system and act on. This program must be easy to use with an easy interface. In fact one on the main point is to tell the space like a simple and livable place. Then the interaction between astronauts and tecnology is important. So the astronauts can have a complete control of the state of the system. All the system work like a spider and his web. The sensors create a web along all the body of the spacecraft. When something impact the spacecraft, the system fells it like a vibration of the web. The satellite is like a spider. It goes directly on the damage and look at it. So the safety of the web is garantuee.

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SpaceApps is a NASA incubator innovation program.