Lockheed Martin Space Systems said Sept. 2 that its recently opened Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC) near Denver completed its first orbital simulation test with hardware and data that were flown to the international space station in May aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final mission.
During the STS-134 mission, the Endeavour crew tested a navigation sensor suite developed for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. The on-orbit demonstration, dubbed the Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation, or STORRM for short, involved use of the sensor suite’s Vision Navigation Sensor and Docking Camera during docking and undocking operations with the space station.
Back on Earth, Lockheed Martin used the space-flown STORRM hardware and data to demonstrate the Space Operations Simulation Center’s ability to replicate on-orbit conditions that affect relative navigation, lighting and motion control in space.
“The test went perfectly and we were able to recreate the STS-134 STORRM test in a flight like environment right here on Earth,” John Karas, Lockheed Martin vice president and generate manager for human spaceflight, said in a statement. “We’ll compare the data and telemetry to calibrate the SOSC to a real space environment, further increasing the fidelity of this extraordinary facility for future simulations.”
