Concept

Agena target vehicle

The Agena Target Vehicle (@'dZiːn@; ATV), also known as Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle (GATV), was an uncrewed spacecraft used by NASA during its Gemini program to develop and practice orbital space rendezvous and docking techniques, and to perform large orbital changes, in preparation for the Apollo program lunar missions. The spacecraft was based on Lockheed Aircraft's Agena-D upper stage rocket, fitted with a docking target manufactured by McDonnell Aircraft. The name 'Agena' derived from the star Beta Centauri, also known as Agena. The combined spacecraft was a -long cylinder with a diameter of , placed into low Earth orbit with the Atlas-Agena launch vehicle. It carried about of propellant and gas at launch, and had a gross mass at orbital insertion of . The ATV for Gemini 6 failed on launch on October 25, 1965, which led NASA to develop a backup: the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA), a smaller spacecraft consisting of the docking target with an attitude control propulsion system but without the Agena orbital change rocket. The ATDA was used once on Gemini 9A after a second ATV launch failure on May 17, 1966, but failed as a docking target because its launch shroud failed to separate. Each ATV consisted of an Agena-D-derivative upper rocket stage built by Lockheed Aircraft and a docking adapter built by McDonnell Aircraft. The Agena was launched from Cape Kennedy's Launch Complex 14 on top of an Atlas booster built by the Convair division of General Dynamics. The Agena first burn would occur shortly after shroud jettison and separation from the Atlas over the Atlantic Ocean. Over Ascension Island, a second burn would place the Agena into a low circular orbit. The McDonnell Gemini spacecraft would then be launched from Launch Complex 19, as soon as 90 minutes later. Both countdowns would proceed in parallel and required close synchronization. The Gemini would rendezvous and dock with the Agena as soon as Gemini's first orbit toward the end of the program. Gemini 11's Richard F. Gordon, Jr.

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agena_target_vehicle

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Related concepts (3)

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ˈnæsə) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science.

Space rendezvous

A space rendezvous (ˈrɒndeɪvuː) is a set of orbital maneuvers during which two spacecraft, one of which is often a space station, arrive at the same orbit and approach to a very close distance (e.g. within visual contact). Rendezvous requires a precise match of the orbital velocities and position vectors of the two spacecraft, allowing them to remain at a constant distance through orbital station-keeping. Rendezvous may or may not be followed by docking or berthing, procedures which bring the spacecraft into physical contact and create a link between them.

Docking and berthing of spacecraft

Docking and berthing of spacecraft is the joining of two space vehicles. This connection can be temporary, or partially permanent such as for space station modules. Docking specifically refers to joining of two separate free-flying space vehicles. Berthing refers to mating operations where a passive module/vehicle is placed into the mating interface of another space vehicle by using a robotic arm. Because the modern process of un-berthing requires more crew labor and is time-consuming, berthing operations are unsuited for rapid crew evacuations in the event of an emergency.

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agena_target_vehicle

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Related publications (3)

Design for demise applied to spacecraft structural panels and experiments for ClearSpace One platform

Alexandre Achille Looten

With growing awareness of the vulnerability of the near-Earth space region and the anticipated surge in satellite objects, efforts are underway to assess and implement various mitigation strategies. These aim to minimize the impact of space activities and ...

EPFL2024

H∞ and μ-Synthesis for Nanosatellites Rendezvous and Docking

Volker Gass, Camille Sébastien Pirat

In this brief, the nanosatellite rendezvous and docking problem is tackled. It was never attempted for small spacecraft, as critical technologies, such as six-degree-of-freedom (DoF) micropropulsion systems, have only recently become available due to advan ...

2019

Guidance, Navigation and Control for Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking of Nano-Satellites

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Is it possible to dock CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit? Challenges are associated with the level of miniaturisation: the docking accuracy is driven by the docking mechanism dimensions. The achievable docking performance with the Guidance, Navigation and Contro ...

EPFL2018

Related concepts (3)

NASA

Space rendezvous

Docking and berthing of spacecraft