Docking, anchoring, and towing universal match-plate

Abstract

The embodiments presented herein provide for a universal docking interface system between space vehicles. One mechanical interface system includes a first docking plate configured with a first space vehicle, and a second docking plate configured with a second space vehicle. The first docking plate comprises an array of EPMs, a locking mechanism, ports, a guide pin, and a controller. The second docking plate comprises corresponding ports and a receiver port for receiving the guide pin. The controller is operable to modulate one or more of the EPMs in a long range mode to initiate mating with the second docking plate by aligning the guide pin with the receiver port, to change a magnetization of the EPMs to a short range mode to secure the first docking plate to the second docking plate, and to initiate the locking mechanism to lock the first docking plate to the second docking plate.

Description

DOCKING, ANCHORING, AND TOWING UNIVERSAL MATCH-PLATECross Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This patent application claims priority to, and thus the benefit of an earlier filing date from, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 581,879 (filed September 11, 2023), the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.Background

[0002] As space flight continues to evolve, there has been considerable interest in the development of techniques for servicing space vehicles, such as satellites in orbit. For example, some satellites carry fuel on board to power thrusters and change their orbits. When a satellite consumes all of its fuel, the satellite has no means to change position in the satellite’s orbit. Thus, having a means for transferring fuel to the satellite in space could extend the life of the satellite. Other examples include satellite malfunctions due to software bugs and glitches and hardware failures. Having some form of data connection in space would allow the satellite to be reprogrammed from another space vehicle to overcome such failures.Summary

[0003] The embodiments herein provide a docking system that includes a universal androgynous interface capable of meeting requirements for docking one space vehicle to another in space. The system also provides the ability to rapidly service space vehicles from ground before launch. In one embodiment, a mechanical interface system includes a first docking plate configured with a first space vehicle. A second docking plate is operable to interact with the first docking plate and is configured with a second space vehicle. The first docking plate comprises an array of electropermanent magnets (EPMs), a locking mechanism, a plurality of ports, a guide pin, and a controller. The second docking plate comprises a corresponding plurality of ports and a receiver port for receiving the guide pin. The controller is operable to modulate one or more of the EPMs in a long range mode to initiate mating with the second docking plate by aligning the guide pin with the receiver port. Once aligned, the controller changes a magnetization of the EPMs to a short range mode to secure the first docking plate to the second docking plate. Thereafter, the controller initiates the locking mechanism to lock the first docking plate to the second docking plate.

[0004] Once locked, the various connections can be used to transfer what is needed by the space vehicle and / or tow the space vehicle (e.g., for repositioning and / or deorbit). Examples of the ports for each docking plate include an electrical connection for transferring power from one space vehicle to another space vehicle, a fluid transfer connection for transferring fluids between the space vehicles, and / or a data connection for transferring communications between the space vehicles (e.g., software uploads, data transfers, etc.). The controller is further operable to undock of the space vehicles by disengaging the locking mechanism and by controlling the EPMs to magnetically repel the first docking plate from the second docking plate.

[0005] In some embodiments, the docking plates include an optical fiducial operable to locate a corresponding optical fiducial configured with the second docking plate. For example, one of the docking plates may include a light and the other docking plate may include a light detector. The light detector may be used as a sort of feedback to the controller such that the controller can modulate the EPMs to guide the docking plate to the other docking plate such that the guide pin and the receiver port align.

[0006] The various embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in a variety of ways as a matter of design choice. For example, some embodiments herein are implemented in hardware whereas other embodiments may include processes that are operable to implement and / or operate the hardware. Other exemplary embodiments, including software and firmware, are described below.Brief Description of the Figures

[0007] Some embodiments of the present invention are now described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference number represents the same element or the same type of element on all drawings.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for docking two space vehicles, in one exemplary embodiment.

[0009] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary process of the system of FIG. 1.

[0010] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an interface side of a docking plate, in one exemplary embodiment.

[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates a pair of docking plates preparing to mate, in one exemplary embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective cutaway view of the docking plates initiating mating, in one exemplary embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 6A is a perspective cutaway view of two docking plates engaged in a soft dock mode, and FIG. 6B is an exploded view of connections and contact surfaces of the docking plates, in one exemplary embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 7 is a perspective cutaway view of two docking plates mated and engaging in a hard dock via a locking mechanism, in one exemplary embodiment.

[0015] FIGS. 8A-8C are perspective views of two docking plates mating, in one exemplary embodiment.

[0016] FIG. 9 is a view of a cam system of the docking plates that is used to mate the docking plates.

[0017] FIG. 10 is a perspective cutaway view of the two docking plates fully locked with the connections of each of the docking plates connected to one another.

[0018] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system in which a computer readable medium provides instructions for performing methods herein.Detailed Description of the Figures

[0019] The figures and the following description illustrate specific exemplary embodiments. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody certain principles and are included within the scope of the embodiments. Furthermore, any examples described herein are intended to aid in understanding the embodiments and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. As a result, the embodiments are not limited to any of the examples described below.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 100 for docking two space vehicles in one exemplary embodiment. In this embodiment, the system includes a first docking plate 102 and a second docking plate 122. Each of the docking plate 102 and 122 is configured with their respective space vehicles. Alternatively or additionally, one of the docking plates 102 and 122 can be configured with a ground servicing platform to service the space vehicle on ground before launch. Accordingly, the term “space vehicle” as used herein may also refer to a ground servicing platform.

[0021] In this embodiment, the first docking plate 102 is communicatively coupled to a controller 116 that is operable to control various aspects of the docking plate 102, including mating the docking plate 102 with the docking plate 122 via an array 110 of electropermanent magnets (EPMs). An EPM is a type of permanent magnet in which the external magnetic field can be switched on or off by a pulse of electric current in a wire winding around part of the magnet. The magnet generally consists of two sections, one of “hard” magnetic material (i.e., a high coercivity) and one of “soft” magnetic material (i.e., a low coercivity). The direction of magnetization in the latter piece can be switched by a pulse of current in a wire winding about the former. When the magnetically soft and hard materials have opposing magnetizations, the magnet produces no net external field across its poles. And when their direction of magnetization is aligned, the magnet produces an external magnetic field.

[0022] The docking plate 102 may include one or more guide pins 106 that are operable to mate with the docking plate 122. The controller 116 modulates the EPMs of the EPM array 110 in a long range mode that draws the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122. When the guide pins 106 engage receiver ports of the docking plate 122, the controller 116 may turn on all of the EPMs of the array 110 so as to secure the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122. In this regard, the guide pins 106 may align a plurality of ports 104-1 - 104-N (where the reference number “N” is an integer greater than “1” and not necessarily equal to any other “N” reference designated herein) of the docking plate 102 with a corresponding plurality of ports 104 of the docking plate 122. These ports 104 may include fluid transfer connections, electrical connections, and / or data connections that may be used in servicing a space vehicle. Thus, the terms “connections” and “ports” are used interchangeably herein.

[0023] The configuration of ports 104 can vary on a mission by mission basis, while still enabling the same universal interface to be used for launch-lock and in-space docking. For example, electrical connections may be swapped out with fluid transfer connections prior to launch (e.g., or even in space in a human assisted spacecraft) depending on the needs of the space vehicle being serviced.

[0024] Once the ports 104 of each of the docking plates 102 and 122 are aligned and the EPM array 110 has secured the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122, the controller 116 may initiate a locking mechanism 108 to secure the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122. In some embodiments, the locking mechanism 108 is a cam mechanism that rotates an inner portion of the docking plate 102 to a guide pin of the docking plate 122. Once locked, the connections are aligned and may be used to service the space vehicle and / or tow the space vehicle. Further examples of the locking mechanism 108 are shown and described in the following figures.

[0025] In some embodiments, the docking plates 102 and 122 may include optical fiducials to provide a feedback to the controller 116 to assist in guiding the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122. For example, the docking plate 122 may include a light and the docking plate 102 may include an optical detector. The optical detector may sense the light from the docking plate 122 and generate a control signal for the controller 116 when the light indicates that the docking plate 102 is proximate to the docking plate 122.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 200 of the system 100 of FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the controller 116 initiates docking between the docking plate 102 and the docking plate 122 by controlling a plurality of EPMs in the EPM array 110 to attract the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122, in the process element 202. In this “long-range mode”, the controller 116 may modulate the EPM array 110 by individually controlling EPMs in the EPM array 110 so as to steer the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122 and align the guide pins 106 with receiver ports of the docking plate 122, in the process element 204. As mentioned, the docking plates 102 and 122 may be configured with optical fiducials that provide feedback to the controller 116 such that the controller 116 can determine which EPMs in the EPM array 110 to turn on and off as a sort of steering mechanism.

[0027] Once the docking plate 102 has mated with the docking plate 122 and the ports 104 of the docking plate 102 have aligned with the ports of the docking plate 122, the controller 116 may change a magnetization state of the EPMs in the EPM array 110 to a “short range mode” to secure the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122, in the process element 206. For example, the controller 116 may direct all of the EPMs in the EPM array 110 to turn on and secure the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122. Afterwards, the controller 116 may direct and electromechanical locking mechanism to lock the docking plate 102 to the docking plate 122, in the process element 208.

[0028] After the space vehicle has been serviced with the ports 104 of the docking plate 102 (e.g., electrical power transfers, fluid transfers, data transfers, towing, etc.), the controller 116 may direct the electromechanical locking mechanism to unlock from the docking plate 122. Then, the controller 116 may direct the EPMs of the EPM array 110 to repel the docking plate 102 from the docking plate 122 (e.g., by reversing polarity).

[0029] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an interface side of a docking plate 300, in one exemplary embodiment. In this embodiment, the docking plate 300 includes fluid transfer interfaces 302-1 and 302-2, a guide pin 306, a receiver port 312, an EPM array 310, power and / or data connections 304-1 and 304-2, and optical fiducials 308-1 - 308-3. The guide pin 306 is operable to guide the docking plate 300 to a corresponding receiver port of another docking plate. And the receiver port 312 of the docking plate 300 is operable to receive a corresponding guide pin from the other docking plate. Thus, the docking plate 300 may be part of a universal docking plate system configured to mate with other similarly configured docking plates.

[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates a pair of docking plates 402 and 422 preparing to mate, in one exemplary embodiment. In this embodiment, each of the docking plates 402 and 422 are configured in a similar fashion in that each comprises an EPM array (e.g., EPM array 430 of docking plate 422 with the EPM array of docking plate 402 not being visible in this view). The EPM arrays are modulated by a controller (not shown) in a long-range mode based on optical fiducials that provide feedback to the controller (e.g., optical fiducials 432-1 - 432-3 of docking plate 422). The feedback of the optical fiducials allows the controller to steer the docking platestowards one another by modulating (e.g., turning on and off) individual EPMs of each respective docking plate, guiding the docking plates 402 and 422 together.

[0031] When the docking plates engage, the guide pin 436 of the docking plate 422 is received in a receiver port of the docking plate 402. Similarly, the docking plate 402 has a guide pin that is received in the receiver port 438 of the docking plate 422. Once engaged, the EPM arrays of the docking plates 402 and 422 enter into a short range mode. That is, the controller of one of the docking plates 402 and 422 may turn on each of the EPMs in its EPM array while the controller of the other docking plate may turn off each of the EPMs in its EPM array such that there is a magnetic attraction between the opposing EPM arrays. This short range mode of EPM array control secures the docking plates to one another. Alternatively, the EPM arrays of the docking plates 402 and 422 may be configured in opposite fashion such that, when the EPM arrays of the docking plates 402 and 422 are turned on, a first docking plate will have a north pole facing the other docking plate and the other docking plate will have a south pole facing the first docking plate. Once secured, either or both of the docking plates 402 and 422 may direct a electromechanical locking mechanism to lock the docking plate 402 and 422 to one another via the controller. The EPM arrays, the controller, and / or the electromechanical locking system may be powered by an electrical power supply 410 in each of the docking plates. In some embodiments, the EPMs may alternate poles in the array. In any case, the EPMs of the EPM arrays may be individually controlled by the their respective controllers.

[0032] One servicing of the space vehicle is complete through the docking plate (e.g., the docking plate 422) from the other docking plate (e.g., the docking plate 402), the controller(s) may direct the electromechanical locking mechanism(s) to disengage and unlock the docking plates 402 and 422 from one another. Thereafter, either or both of the controllers may reverse the current to the EPMs of their respective EPM arrays to provide a repelling force between the docking plates 402 and 422 to separate the docking plates one another.

[0033] It should be noted that the embodiments herein are not intended to be limited to identical docking plates. For example, in some instances, one of the docking plates may be configured with an EPM array while the other docking plate to be mated may not have an EPM array, or even a controller or locking mechanism. Those skilled in the art will readily recognizethat one of the docking plates could be implemented with an EPM to align with and secure to another docking plate to provide various types of connections including fluid, data, and / or power.

[0034] FIG. 5 is a perspective cutaway view of the docking plates 402 and 422 initiating mating, in one exemplary embodiment. Here, each docking plate has an alignment pin 506 and an alignment receptacle 530. When docking plates 402 and 422 are proximate to one another, their respective EPM arrays enter into the short range mode to draw the docking plates 402 and 422 to one another such that the alignment pin 506 of the docking plate 402 slides into the alignment receptacle 530 of the docking plate 422. And the alignment pin 506 of the docking plate 422 slides into the alignment receptacle 530 of the docking plate 402. The short range mode of attraction of the EPM arrays has a higher holding force than the long-range mode and provides a soft dock between the docking plates 402 and 422. The terms “guide pin” and “alignment pin” may be used interchangeable herein, as well as the terms “alignment receptacle” and “receiver port”.

[0035] FIG. 6A is a perspective cutaway view of two docking plates engaged in a soft dock mode and FIG. 6B is an exploded view 640 of connections 646 and 648 (e.g., electrical connections, fluid connections, data connections, etc.) and contact surfaces 642 and 644 of the docking plates, in one exemplary embodiment. As the EPMs are fully engaged in a soft dock mode, the contact surfaces 642 and 644 connect to function as a mechanical damping mechanism which protects the electrical and fluidic connections from getting damaged. As can be seen, in the image, connections sit behind the contact surface, providing further protection to the connections.

[0036] FIG. 7 is a perspective cutaway view of two docking plates mated and engaging in a hard dock via the locking mechanism, in one exemplary embodiment. On each of the docking plates have symmetric torque pins 706 which can be rotated to initiate a hard dock. A motor controls rotation of the torque pins 706 to slide each of the torque pins 706 into an opposite side of the interface so that the draw down process is symmetric. The alignment pins both incorporate roller pins, with each having a bearing that allows for the rotation.

[0037] FIG. 8 A is a perspective view of two docking plates mated and their respective wheels rotating in opposing directions as illustrated by the arrows 824 and 826, in one exemplary embodiment. When the torque pins are rotated, the roller pins follow sloped cam profiles 820 and 822 which brings the connections together and mechanically locks the system. The cam followers 828, 830, 832, and 834 pull the two docking plates together as the cam profiles 820 and 822 rotate through the cam followers. FIG. 8B further illustrates the docking plates being brought together as the cam profiles 820 and 822 rotate through the cam followers 828, 830, 832, and 834. And FIG. 8C illustrates the two docking plates mated and locked together. Once both torque pins are fully torqued, the interfaces are in a full hard dock. And the connections of the two docking plates are connected. Thus, the system is fully locked mechanically via the roller pins and the cam profile 828, 830, 832, and 834. An example of the fully locked cam profile 826 between the cam followers 828 and 830 is illustrated in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is a perspective cutaway view of the two docking plates fully locked with the connections of each of the docking plates connected to one another. To undock the two docking plates, the same processes may be performed in reverse, followed by a reversal of the magnetic polarity of one of the two EPM arrays to generate a magnetic repulsion force.

[0038] Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that other types of locking and alignment mechanisms for hard docking the individual plates of the space vehicles may be employed. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that the EPMs may be controlled and configured as a matter of design choice.

[0039] Any of the above embodiments herein may be rearranged and / or combined with other embodiments. Accordingly, the concepts herein are not to be limited to any particular embodiment disclosed herein. Additionally, the embodiments can take the form of entirely hardware or comprising both hardware and software elements. Portions of the embodiments may be implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, etc. FIG. 11 illustrates a computing system 1000 in which a computer readable medium 1006 may provide instructions for performing any of the methods disclosed herein.

[0040] Any of the various computing and / or control elements shown in the figures or described herein may be implemented as hardware, as a processor implementing software orfirmware, or some combination of these. For example, an element may be implemented as dedicated hardware. Dedicated hardware elements may be referred to as “processors,” “controllers,” or some similar terminology. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term “processor” or “controller” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, a network processor, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other circuitry, field programmable gate array (FPGA), read only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), non-volatile storage, logic, or some other physical hardware component or module.

[0041] In one embodiment, instructions stored on a computer readable medium direct a computing system of any of the devices and / or servers discussed herein to perform the various operations disclosed herein. In some embodiments, all or portions of these operations may be implemented in a networked computing environment, such as a cloud computing system. Cloud computing often includes on-demand availability of computer system resources, such as data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by a user. Cloud computing relies on the sharing of resources, and generally includes on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.

[0042] FIG. 11 depicts one illustrative cloud computing system 1200 operable to perform the above operations by executing programmed instructions tangibly embodied on one or more computer readable storage mediums. The cloud computing system 1200 generally includes the use of a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer (e.g., in the computing systems 1202-1 - 1202-N). Cloud computing enables users to use infrastructure and applications via the internet, without installing and maintaining them on-premises. In this regard, the cloud computing network 1220 may include virtualized information technology (IT) infrastructure (e.g., servers 1224-1 - 1224-N, the data storage module 1222, operating system software, networking, and other infrastructure) that is abstracted so that the infrastructure can be pooled and / or divided irrespective of physical hardware boundaries. In some embodiments, the cloudcomputing network 1220 can provide users with services in the form of building blocks that can be used to create and deploy various types of applications in the cloud on a metered basis.

[0043] Various components of the cloud computing system 1200 may be operable to implement the above operations in their entirety or contribute to the operations in part. For example, a computing system 1202-1 may be used to store computer instructions in a data storage module 1222 (e.g., a database) of a cloud computing network 1220. These instructions may be communicated to the controller of the docking plates. Various computer servers 1224-1 - 1224-N of the cloud computing network 1220 may be used to operate on the data and / or transfer the data to another computing system 1202-N.

[0044] Some embodiments disclosed herein may utilize instructions (e.g., code / software) accessible via a computer-readable storage medium for use by various components in the cloud computing system 1200 to implement all or parts of the various operations disclosed hereinabove. Examples of such components include the computing systems 1202-1 - 1202-N.

[0045] Exemplary components of the computing systems 1202- 1 - 1202-N may include at least one processor 1204, a computer readable storage medium 1214, program and data memory 1206, input / output (I / O) devices 1208, a display device interface 1212, and a network interface 1210. For the purposes of this description, the computer readable storage medium 1214 comprises any physical media that is capable of storing a program for use by the computing system 1202. For example, the computer-readable storage medium 1214 may be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, semiconductor device, or other non-transitory medium. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium 1214 include a solid-state memory, a magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk, and an optical disk. Some examples of optical disks include Compact Disk - Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disk - Read / Write (CD- R / W), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), and Blu-Ray Disc.

[0046] The processor 1204 is coupled to the program and data memory 1206 through a system bus 1216. The program and data memory 1206 include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and / or cache memories that providetemporary storage of at least some program code and / or data in order to reduce the number of times the code and / or data are retrieved from bulk storage (e.g., a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or the like) during execution.

[0047] Input / output or I / O devices 1208 (including but not limited to keyboards, displays, touchscreens, microphones, pointing devices, etc.) may be coupled either directly or through intervening I / O controllers. Network adapter interfaces 1210 may also be integrated with the system to enable the computing system 1202 to become coupled to other computing systems or storage devices through intervening private or public networks. The network adapter interfaces 1210 may be implemented as modems, cable modems, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) devices, Fibre Channel devices, Ethernet cards, wireless adapters, etc. Display device interface 1212 may be integrated with the system to interface to one or more display devices, such as screens for presentation of data generated by the processor 1204.

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. A mechanical interface system, comprising: a first docking plate configured with a first space vehicle; and a second docking plate configured with a second space vehicle; wherein the first docking plate comprises an array of electropermanent magnets (EPMs), a locking mechanism, a plurality of ports, a guide pin, and a controller, wherein the second docking plate comprises a corresponding plurality of ports and a receiver port for receiving the guide pin, and wherein the controller is operable to modulate one or more of the EPMs in a long range mode to initiate mating with the second docking plate by aligning the guide pin with the receiver port, to change a magnetization of the EPMs to a short range mode to secure the first docking plate to the second docking plate, and to initiate the locking mechanism to lock the first docking plate to the second docking plate.

2. The mechanical interface system of claim 1, wherein: the ports of the first and second docking plates include one or more of: an electrical connection; a fluid transfer connection; and a data connection.

3. The mechanical interface system of claim 1, wherein: the first docking plate includes an optical fiducial operable to locate a corresponding optical fiducial configured with the second docking plate.

4. The mechanical interface system of claim 1, wherein: the controller is further operable to undock of the space vehicles by disengaging the locking mechanism and by controlling the EPMs to magnetically repel the first docking plate from the second docking plate.

5. A method of docking from a first space vehicle to a second space vehicle, the method comprising: controlling a plurality of electropermanent magnets (EPMs) in an EPM array to guide a first docking plate configured with the first space vehicle to a second docketing plate configured with the second space vehicle, wherein the first docking plate comprises an array of electropermanent magnets (EPMs), a locking mechanism, a plurality of ports, a guide pin, and a controller, wherein the second docking plate comprises a corresponding plurality of ports and a receiver port for receiving the guide pin; modulating one or more of the EPMs in a long range mode to initiate mating with the second docking plate by aligning the guide pin with the receiver port; changing a magnetization of the EPMs to a short range mode to secure the first docking plate to the second docking plate; and initiating the locking mechanism to lock the first docking plate to the second docking plate.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: transferring fluid from the first space vehicle to the second space vehicle through one of the plurality of ports.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising: transferring data between the first space vehicle and the second space vehicle through one of the plurality of ports.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising: transferring power from the first space vehicle to the second space vehicle through one of the plurality of ports.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising: processing a feedback signal from an optical fiducial of the first docking plate used to locate a corresponding optical fiducial of the second docking plate; and guiding the first docking plate to the second docking plate based on the feedback signal.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising: undocking the space vehicles by disengaging the locking mechanism and by controlling the EPMs to magnetically repel the first docking plate from the second docking plate.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a controller, direct the controller to dock from a first space vehicle to a second space vehicle, the instructions directing the controller to: control a plurality of electropermanent magnets (EPMs) in an EPM array to guide a first docking plate configured with the first space vehicle to a second docketing plate configured with the second space vehicle, wherein the first docking plate comprises an array of electropermanent magnets (EPMs), a locking mechanism, a plurality of ports, a guide pin, and a controller, wherein the second docking plate comprises a corresponding plurality of ports and a receiver port for receiving the guide pin; modulate one or more of the EPMs in a long range mode to initiate mating with the second docking plate by aligning the guide pin with the receiver port; change a magnetization of the EPMs to a short range mode to secure the first docking plate to the second docking plate; and initiate the locking mechanism to lock the first docking plate to the second docking plate.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising that direct the controller to: transfer fluid from the first space vehicle to the second space vehicle through one of the plurality of ports.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising that direct the controller to: transfer data between the first space vehicle and the second space vehicle through one of the plurality of ports.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising that direct the controller to: transfer power from the first space vehicle to the second space vehicle through one of the plurality of ports.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising that direct the controller to: process a feedback signal from an optical fiducial of the first docking plate used to locate a corresponding optical fiducial of the second docking plate; and guide the first docking plate to the second docking plate based on the feedback signal.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising that direct the controller to: undock the space vehicles by disengaging the locking mechanism and by controlling the EPMs to magnetically repel the first docking plate from the second docking plate.

Images