Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) proposes to develop Dactylus, a spacecraft fixture and accompanying soft capture end-effector for TUIs KRAKEN robotic arm for on-orbit servicing (OOS) of small spacecraft. Dactylus will enable capture and berthing in future space systems by providing a standard unobtrusive (compact, low-profile, 1U footprint) fixture to be included on spacecraft in the 10-50kg range. Dactylus will leverage the capabilities of the KRAKEN robotic arm, such as joint compliance control, visual fixture tracking, and power/data connections to the client through the arm. Visual fiducial features allow tracking to be performed in-situ on the host spacecrafts KRAKEN payload, for autonomous capture maneuvers. With the dynamic behavior of the capture maneuver being controlled autonomously, the end effector and fixture can be made dramatically smaller than traditional soft capture end effectors and fixtures. The five standard capture fixtures on the International Space Station (ISS), for example, are designed for teleoperated capture by humans from ground control with >1second control latency.on-orbit servicing,Docking,capture,berthing,Satellites,robotic arms
