Abstract: A method for designing simulation platform of the spacecraft Guidance Navigation & Control (GNC) system is proposed. During the in-space assembly and long term operation of the Chinese Space Station, complex flight missions are involved, including multi-spacecraft individual on-orbit flight, space rendezvous and docking, multi-spacecraft combination fusion control, separation process control and spacecraft re-entry. The integrate and realistic flight simulation is necessary and vital. Based on time synchronization, real-time data exchange, distributed and integrated simulation architecture，a universal multispacecraft collaborative Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation platform of GNC system is proposed, on which integrate flight simulation with high fidelity is possible to be achieved. The platform consists of several universal simulators, which are highly flexible and expandable, and each can be configured as any specific spacecraft and perform the spacecraft’s whole mission process flight simulation independently. The platform synchronizes time via IRIG-B code and exchanges dynamics data on 1553B bus in real-time, and multi-spacecraft co-simulation can be implemented after coordination accomplished among simulators. This simulation platform has been successfully applied in a spacecraft flight control drilling program.

Key words: Chinese space station, multi spacecraft collaborative, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), guidance navigation &, control (GNC), flight simulation