CEAS EuroGNC 2026 Conference on Guidance, Navigation & Control>
Orbita: A Novel Space Simulation Framework and its Application to Vision-Based Attitude Control in Close-Proximity Operations
Joaquin G. Lopez-Cepero  1, *@  , Jose Antonio Rebollo  1@  , Javier Urrios  1@  
1 : Hisperion Aerospace S.L.
* : Corresponding author

This paper presents Orbita, a novel space simulation framework designed for the holistic modeling and validation of spacecraft dynamics, sensing, and control. Unlike existing approaches that decouple orbital dynamics from visual perception, Orbita integrates high-fidelity propagation, synthetic image generation, vision-based navigation, and closed-loop control into a unified softwarein-the-loop environment. To demonstrate its capabilities, a Line-of-Sight tracking problem is solved using inputs from an onboard camera. We design, implement and validate a deterministic computer vision pipeline, a modified Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter for relative attitude estimation, and a Lyapunov-based Backstepping controller for vision-guided spacecraft pointing. A representative case study involving two CubeSats in close-proximity operations is considered, assessing the effect of attitude perturbations on the overall system performance.



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