Patent ID: 7837153

Claim:
A space-based surveying device, comprising: a docking platform having an interface for physically coupling to a surface of a bus of a spacecraft; an imaging module, releasably coupleable to the docking platform; and a semi-rigid tether, coupled to the docking platform and the imaging module, the semi-rigid tether axially extendable and retractable by command, the imaging module having a first imaging sensor for collecting image data, the imaging sensor communicatively coupled with the docking platform via the tether, wherein the semi-rigid tether has a curvilinear shape configured to dispose the imaging module at varying angles to the docking platform as the tether is deployed; wherein the surveying device is operable in a stowed state in which the imaging module is rigidly coupled to the docking station, and a deployed state in which the imaging module is compliantly coupled to the docking station.