Design of a robotic arm for laboratory simulations of spacecraft proximity navigation and docking

The main goal of this thesis is the development of a robot manipulator for the simulation of close approach orbital maneuvers, with particular attention to docking and capture. This project tries to propose a viable alternative to huge and costly RvD structures. The final robot is able to simulate RvDs inside a spherical working space of 1.3 m radius, with a total mass of just 7.5 kg