Visual measurement for on-orbit assembly of a large space antenna

In Earth orbit, solar power generation is possible free from any absorption or disturbances by the Earth's atmosphere. Therefore, space solar power station is planned for the future. We discuss the assembly work of a large antenna reflector by a robot arm. For the assembly work, positioning of the arm using visual servo to colored markers is proposed. The characteristics of the new image processing method of colored marker were confirmed by testing using a ground test-bed with a positioning table. The test results are also described in this paper.