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With the growing need for on-orbit servicing (OOS) technology to de-orbit and extend the life of satellites, unmanned systems with robotic arms have become increasingly promising as a versatile solution. This paper provides an overview of different tools for capturing a cooperative or non-cooperative target satellite. We provide a comparative analysis of eight grippers for capture using the launch adapter ring (LAR) of target satellites. They are characterized by the following aspects: 1) Having a jaw with suitable geometry for clamping the flange of the LAR, 2) Capture is carried out in steps of fast but soft capture and slow but rigid capture to prevent LAR escape, and 3) Typical capture envelope is in the order of tens of mm and typical load capacity is ~100-200 Nm, 4) They have a number of sensors, including trigger sensors to detect the presence of the LAR within the capture envelope and trigger the gripper closure. Upcoming missions within a few years will demonstrate on-orbit the capability of those LAR grippers.
Fujii et al. (Sat,) studied this question.