Above: A two-axis gantry system that uses autonomous tracking capabilities through computer vision to test the deployment of solar arrays on the ground.
Top Image: Team members from left to right: Conrad Bristol, Jarrett Philips, John Troetschel, Emily Jordan, Colin Dombrowski, Nicholas Sanchez-Jans, Michel Monnet.
Project Marion explores solutions to the challenge of simulating a zero-gravity environment while testing large ultra-lightweight spacecraft on the ground. The final prototype is a two-axis gantry system that uses autonomous tracking capabilities through computer vision to test the deployment of solar arrays.
Sponsorship
Sponsored by Ball Aerospace
Director
Luke Woolley