Tracking targets on the International Space Station using a laser scanner

The Neptec Design Group has developed the Laser Camera System (LCS), a new 3D laser scanner for space applications, based on an autosynchronized principle from the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). The LCS operates both in imaging and target centroid acquisition modes. In imaging mode, the LCS raster scans objects and can produce 2D and 3D maps of their surface features. In centroid acquisition mode, the LCS determines the position of discrete target points on an object. The LCS was tested in August 2001 during mission STS-105 of the space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Stations. From a fixed location in the shuttle payload bay, the LCS 1500 nm eye-safe infrared laser was pre-programmed to draw Lissajous patterns on Inconel (black dots on a white background) and retro-reflective disc targets affixed on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). The LCS acquired centroid data for two and a half hours during the MPLM demating operation to demonstrate its ability to track both types of targets when they are stationary and moving.