The present invention relates to a measuring device for the location and attitude determination of an object.
Such measuring devices are needed, for example, in space flights, when it becomes necessary to bring two space craft into close proximity in order to link one to the other and docking is only possible in an exactly predetermined attitude of the two craft with respect to each other. For this purpose, the relative location and attitude of one space craft must be determined from the approaching space craft, so that before the docking maneuver, possible required attitude corrections can be carried out. As deviations from the desired reference attitude, rotations as well as tilts with respect to the connecting line between the two bodies can occur.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds