Advanced Video Guidance Sensor

The Advanced Video Guidance Sensor is a space-based sensor for autonomous rendezvous and docking. It uses lasers to illuminate and image a cooperative retro-reflecting target on a spacecraft, and then uses the image to determine the spacecraft's distance, bearing, and pose.

AOS designed and built the prototype hardware, then worked with Orbital Sciences Corporation to transition the technology from prototype to flight-qualified hardware. AVGS flew on the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology mission, and on the Orbital Express mission.