Spacecraft Orbital Rendezvous & Docking Simulator
Inspired by NASA and Roscosmos cargo missions (Progress 96, Dragon, Cygnus) docking to the Space Station. Pilot 6-DOF RCS translation and attitude alignment within the target approach cone.
Optical Docking Camera & Kurs HUD
CONTACT LATCH: ARMED
DELTA-V EXP: 1.82 m/s
ATT TRIM: READY
Orbital Mechanics: V-Bar vs R-Bar
The Velocity vector (V-bar) aligns with the orbital direction of travel, while the Radial vector (R-bar) connects directly toward Earth's center. Approaching along V-bar requires continuous fine braking pulses because orbital mechanics creates natural orbital separation over long arcs.
Strict Docking Corridors
Space station safety rules enforce an expanding cone of allowable approach: at 100 meters, a 10-meter error is permitted; at contact (0 meters), lateral offset must be under 0.15 meters and speed under 0.20 m/s to prevent structural damage to the docking ring latches.
The TORU Backup System
When autonomous Kurs automated radar guidance encounters discrepancies, cosmonauts aboard the ISS switch to the TORU teleoperator system, using dual joysticks and a low-latency video feed to steer incoming Progress cargo carriers manually.
How are relative velocity and Clohessy-Wiltshire frames computed?
The simulator computes relative position in the target-centered Local Vertical Local Horizontal (LVLH) coordinate frame. Drag and differential gravity induce parabolic drifts when outside station-keeping holds. Thrusters impart discrete ΔV vectors, depleting hypergolic nitrogen tetroxide/UDMH propellant.
Can I test emergency drift recovery?
Yes! Select "Toru Manual Takeover" in the mission selector. This spawns the vehicle at 140m distance with 8m of lateral drift, roll displacement, and closing rate, challenging you to damp rates and re-acquire the docking corridor cone before propellant depletion.