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SPHERES Interact - Human-Machine Interaction Aboard the International Space Station

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SPHERES Interact - Human-Machine Interaction aboard the International Space Station Enrico Stoll Steffen Jaekel Jacob Katz Alvar Saenz-Otero Space Systems Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge Massachusetts, 02139-4307, USA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Renuganth Varatharajoo Department of Aerospace Engineering University Putra Malaysia 43400 Selangor, Malaysia [email protected] Abstract The deployment of space robots for servicing and maintenance operations, which are tele- operated from ground, is a valuable addition to existing autonomous systems since it will provide flexibility and robustness in mission operations. In this connection, not only robotic manipulators are of great use but also free-flying inspector satellites supporting the oper- ations through additional feedback to the ground operator. The manual control of such an inspector satellite at a remote location is challenging since the navigation in three- dimensional space is unfamiliar and large time delays can occur in the communication chan- nel. This paper shows a series of robotic experiments, in which satellites are controlled by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Synchronized Position Hold Engage Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) were utilized to study several aspects of a remotely controlled inspector satellite. The focus in this case study is to investigate different approaches to human-spacecraft interaction with varying levels of autonomy under zero-gravity conditions. 1 Introduction Human-machine interaction is a wide spread research topic on Earth since there are many terrestrial applica- tions, such as industrial assembly or rescue robots. Analogously, there are a number of possible applications in space such as maintenance, inspection and assembly amongst others. Satellites are the only complex engineering system without an infrastructure for routine maintenance and repair. The Space Shuttle based satellite servicing missions, like the Hubble, Solar Maximum, SYNCOM IV-3, and INTELSAT VI (F-3) missions, which were executed in the past, are not applicable to arbitrary spacecraft. The reasons there- fore are on the one hand the costs due to the Space Shuttle deployment, which exceed the expenses for re-constructing and re-launching the specific satellite. On the other hand, using manned spacecraft like the Space Shuttle always constitutes a risk for the crew. Currently, the size and weight of spacecraft is limited by the launch vehicle. They have to fit into the payload envelope of the respective launcher. However, most scientific satellites would benefit from larger payload volumes. Space telescopes for example could be significantly improved if more room was available for larger apertures. Likewise, if the size of solar panels can be increased, the increased energy available allows to integrate more complex payloads. In-space robotic assembly (ISRA) is an approach to overcome launcher limitations. Robotic assembly can be used to construct spacecraft in orbit after their parts have been brought to space with multiple launch vehicles. This principle has already been employed for the con- struction of the ISS. Different modules were separately brought to space by either the Space Shuttle or the Russian Proton launch vehicle and were subsequently assembled in space by astronauts. In contrast, ISRA can also be performed by controlling the procedures from ground. Similar to ISRA, ground controlled robotic spacecraft can be utilized for on-orbit repair and maintenance operations. Robotic spacecraft can also be utilized for inspecting a target satellite or monitoring such on- orbit servicing (OOS) operations. Furthermore, it is planned to use ground controlled spacecraft for orbit transfer. Malfunctioning spacecraft can be de-orbited from low Earth orbit (LEO) or geostationary (GEO) satellites, that have exceeded their operating life, can be relocated to the graveyard orbit. 1.1 State of the Art In general, the deployment of regular used robotic systems in space is currently limited to the Shuttle Remote Manipulator Systems (SRMS), the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEM-RMS) and the Mobile Servicing System (MBS) aboard the ISS. In addition to the 17 m long Canadarm2 (Space Station Remote Manipulation System, SSRMS), the MBS also features a Special Purpose Dexterous Manip- ulator (SPDM) (Mukherji et al., 2001). The three systems can be teleoperated by the crew and are being used for Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) support, Space Station assembly, and satellite operations (retrieve, repair, deploy). In combination with the SRMS, the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) (Greaves et al., 2005) is utilized for the inspection of the Shuttle's heat protection tiles. In addition to the described robotic servicing capabilities which are strictly bound to the Shuttle or the ISS, several satellite-based demonstrators have been brought to orbit (or controlled on Earth via a satellite in orbit (Stoll et al., 2009a)) in order to demonstrate the possibility of more flexible and cost-effective future robotic on-orbit servicing systems. This section gives a brief overview of existing systems with special em- phasis on missions that involve free-flyers for proximity operations and inspection. The Robot Technology Experiment (ROTEX) (Hirzinger et al., 1993) was developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). It was flown by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in 1993 and was the first remotely controlled robot in space. Besides au- tonomous (pre-programmed) and tele-sensor-programmed (learning by showing) operations, the operator on ground could control the robot by using predictive, three dimensional (3D) computer graphics in teleopera- tion mode with a delay of approximately seven seconds. The Ranger robotics program started in 1992 as the Ranger telerobotic flight experiment (RTFX) at the University of Maryland (Roderick et al., 2004). The goal was to develop a dexterous extravehicular space telerobot with four robot manipulators and a free-flight capability in space. In 1996 the program was redi- rected as a Shuttle launch payload but never advanced beyond an engineering model. The Japanese Engineering Test Satellite VII (ETS-VII) (Imaida et al., 2001), launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 1997, was composed of a pair of satellites and successfully demon- strated bilateral teleoperation in space. The smaller and cooperative target satellite was autonomously inspected and captured by the servicer satellite featuring a six degrees of freedom (DoF) robotic manipula- tor with haptic feedback. Installed in 2005 outside the Russian Service Module, the German Robotic Component Verification aboard the ISS (Rokviss) (Albu-Schaffer et al., 2006) experiment featured a two joint robotic arm. It was controlled by operators on ground utilizing a haptic-visual display for telepresent manipulation via a direct S-band link with a total communication delay below 30 ms. In addition, the robot could be operated automatically in order to allow continuous experimentation without the need for a constant ground link to the experimenta- tion platform. The Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) (Rumford, 2003), developed by NASA and launched in 2005, was the first mission to rendezvous with a satellite completely autonomously. However, DART showed problems with its navigation system and suffered from excessive fuel usage. When DART approached its target for the execution of close proximity and formation flight operations, it overshot an im- portant waypoint and collided with the communication satellite MUBLCOM, it was supposed to rendezvous with. Consequently, the mission was retired prematurely. Developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory, the Experimental Small Satellite-10 (Davis and Melan- son, 2004) and 11 (Madison, 2000) (XSS-10/11) were launched in 2003 and 2005, respectively, and were intended to demonstrate key technologies for future on-orbit servicing missions. The micro satellites demon- strated line-of-sight guidance, rendezvous as well as close-proximity maneuvering around an orbiting satellite. Both missions utilized the upper stage of the launch vehicle as a simulated target spacecraft to be serviced. Brought into geostationary orbit in 2006, the Micro-Satellite Technology Experiment's (MiTEx) (Boeing- Company, 2006) purpose was to execute a variety of autonomous operations, maneuvering and station- keeping. In 2008 and 2009, both satellites conducted the first deep space inspection of the malfunctioning defense support satellite (DSP-23). The goal of the Orbital Express (Shoemaker and Wright, 2003) mission, developed by the Defense Ad- vanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and launched in 2007, was to validate the technical feasibility of robotic on-orbit servicing including autonomous rendezvous, proximity operations, capture, docking and fuel transfer. The experiment was composed of two satellites, the servicer ASTRO which featured a robotic manipulator, and a surrogate target satellite, called NextSat. After completing a successful docking ma- neuver, refueling and the substitution of orbital replacement units could be demonstrated on a low level of autonomy. Funded by DARPA and implemented by the Naval Center for Space Technology, the Spacecraft for the Universal Modification of Orbits (SUMO) (Bosse et al., 2004) was initially planned to be launched in 2010. The spacecraft
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