User:Tony Mach/Spacecraft docking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
< Spacecraft docking and berthing mechanisms
This is the user sandbox of Tony Mach. A user sandbox is a subpage of the user's user page. It serves as a testing spot and page development space for the user and is not an encyclopedia article. Create or edit your own sandbox here. Other sandboxes: Main sandbox | Template sandbox Finished writing a draft article? Are you ready to request review of it by an experienced editor for possible inclusion in Wikipedia? Submit your draft for review! |
I am currently drafting this article Please feel free to edit and improve it. I would also appreciate reviews, comments and suggestions, which can be posted on the talk page. |
Spacecraft docking and berthing mechanisms are mechanisms which are used to connect a spacecraft or a "space station module" to either another spacecraft or an space station. This connection is either temporary for visiting spacecraft or semipermanently for space station modules.[citation needed]
A docking mechanism is used when one spacecraft actively maneuvers under its own propulsion to connect to another spacecraft.[1][2]
A berthing mechanism is used when space station modules or spacecraft are attached to one another by using a robotic arm instead of their own propulsion – berthing typically involves connection to a space station.[1][3]
Docking and berthing are so far mutually exclusive in the deployed mechanisms – the NASA Docking System (NDS) currently under design will be the first system to support both berthing and docking operations.[4]
The terms docking and berthing are derived from the maritime terms for the useage of a dock or a berth, and it is said that one spacecraft actively "docks" to another spacecraft or that it "was berthed" passively to another.[citation needed]