Preliminary Experiments on Image Processing for Satellite Orbital Maintenance

Rescuing a satellite once it has been launched is very difficult. Because we can only obtain information about a satellite by telemetry from the satellite itself, we cannot obtain any more information once a satellite has failed. Furthermore, space debris reentering the atmosphere is becoming a significant problem because the number of satellites is increasing. Therefore, we are currently studying the technologies needed to create an orbital maintenance system (OMS) for a rescue satellite to inspect satellites, to remove unneeded satellites, and to repair failed ones. As an actual on-orbit experiment, the Micro-OLIVe is a mission for testing the image-processing computer and inspection-monitoring camera, which are essential elements in creating the OMS. In this paper, we describe an experiment system and the quick results of the first part of our Micro-OLIVe experiments.