Admittance Control Strategy for the Emulation of Space Debris Capture in a Ground Robotic Facility

The rapid increase in space debris within Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) has prompted space agencies to consider Active Debris Removal (ADR) systems as a viable solution for ensuring the safety of space activities. While current capturing systems are primarily designed for large, cooperative satellites, there remains a significant threat from numerous uncooperative small debris in LEO. To address this challenge, we proposed a Flexible Capturing System called FlexeS that includes an Active Compliance Unit (ACU) and a Passive Compliance Unit (PCU) to dissipate impact energy and expanding the range of capturable space debris. This paper presents admittance control strategy created to emulate FlexeS’ ACU with UR10e robotic arms located in the Zero-G Lab facility at UniLu. Results confirm the effectiveness of the admittance control strategy to emulate the ACU behaviour during space debris capture. The study has been conducted under the project "High fidELity tEsting eNvironment for Active Space Debris Removal - HELEN".