Monocular camera-based relative pose measurement system for space targets

To enhance measurement stability and accuracy for ultra-close-range target docking, this study proposes a monocular camera-based relative position and attitude measurement system with cooperative targets, enabling high-precision position and attitude determination between CubeSats. Through co-designed vision cameras on the chaser satellite and LED targets on the target satellite, precise relative pose measurement is achieved within 0.4−50 meters. First, the collaborative camera-target operation across far/near fields ensures clear imaging throughout the range from 50 meters to 0.4 meters. Second, a multi-scale centroid extraction algorithm incorporating slope consistency constraints and spacing ratio screening reliably acquires features under complex lighting conditions. Finally, combined with the initial pose estimation of the target satellite relative to the chaser, nonlinear optimization iteratively refines pose results to minimize errors. Experimental results demonstrate progressive accuracy improvement with proximity. At 0.4 m distance, the position measurement accuracy is better than 1 millimeter, and the attitude measurement accuracy is better than 0.2 degrees, satisfying ultra-close docking requirements. This solution provides high-precision, high-stability technical support for on-orbit space target relative navigation with important engineering application value.