Raven. Photo: SSL.

Space Systems Loral (SSL) announced that it provided a two-axis gimbal mechanism for NASA’s Raven flight demonstration, which the 10th SpaceX cargo resupply mission delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) on February 19. Developed by NASA’s Satellite Servicing Projects Division, Raven will help the agency test key elements of a real-time spacecraft relative navigation system that will help enable spacecraft servicing and rendezvous missions.

Raven will use the two-axis gimbal mechanism to point its rendezvous and proximity operations sensors at visiting vehicles as they make their approach to dock with the ISS. The gimbal is based on SSL’s heritage dual access positioning mechanism, which is used to deploy and position reflectors, antennas, and electric thrusters on the SSL 1300 platform. Once integrated with the ISS, SSL will test the Raven payload over a two-year period.

NASA and DARPA selected SSL to partner on satellite servicing programs in both Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO), and the company is also developing technologies for satellite self-assembly on orbit. Raven is expected to help NASA develop off-the-shelf relative navigation capability for future rendezvous missions, including satellite servicing and repair missions, asteroid exploration, and human exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond.

SSL is contributing to a variety of U.S. government missions, including the Restore-L mission for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, which will demonstrate satellite servicing in LEO; NASA’s Discovery Mission to explore the metal asteroid called Psyche; and the Dragonfly program for NASA and DARPA, which will demonstrate on orbit satellite assembly.