Experimental study on rotating simulator of the spacecraft docking test table

Building on the main design problems to realize the two freedom rotating of space docking test table, the paper put forward a new unconventional mechanical structure with resisting bend part and cross axis. So in the special situation of heavy load and high impact, the structure is high reliable. The friction torque could be reduced greatly, hence the test table had good passive movement characteristics. The structure dimension is compact, so the error of the spacecraft inertia, which has close relation with structure dimension, can be decreased. The structure mass is light, so it can leave enough design space to other subsystems of the docking test system. An experimental equipment designed by the scale-down method. The experimental results show that the maximal friction torque is only 8.8445 Nm, which is small in relation to the 80 Nm torque produced by the spacecrafts in space. The experimental results show that the design scheme can meet a demand for the docking test tables and other subsystems.