The Altius DogTagTM designs are envisioned to support the grappling of spacecraft by servicing vehicles. These vehicles, which may provide de-orbit services, are for this purpose called visiting vehicles (VVs). It is also envisioned that there will be more then one configuration of the DogTagTM designs, in which case there will be unique part numbers.
These low-cost, lightweight (<250g) grappling interfaces enable a satellite to be grappled via a range of methods including magnetic, electrostatic or gecko adhesive, or mechanical pinch grasping, and include a durable optical fiducial marker to simplify relative navigation during servicing operations. Lowers the cost of servicing and backup end-of-life disposal operations.
