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Space Servicing: Past, Present and Future

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Space Servicing: Past, Present and Future Proceeding of the 6th International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics & Automation in Space: i-SAIRAS 2001, Canadian Space Agency, St-Hubert, Quebec, Canada, June 18-22, 2001. SPACE SERVICING: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Dan King MacDonald Dettwiler Space and Advanced Robotics, 9445 Airport Road, Brampton (On) L6S 4J3, Canada [email protected] where the translational and rotational hand controllers ABSTRACT direct the movement of the arm. Although less utilised, the Canadarm can also be operated automatically using This paper examines the past achievements and current pre-programmed trajectories to complete specific developments in space servicing, with a focus on manoeuvres for the arm. The key parameters of the enabling space robotics systems. As well, an attempt is Canadarm is summarised in Table 1. made to predict future space servicing missions and applications that may help set the path for space Over the past two decades, the Canadarm has enabled robotic technologies development. space servicing missions such as payload/satellite deployment, manoeuvering, servicing and retrieval, 1 INTRODUCTION EVA astronaut assist, shuttle inspection and servicing, ORU manipulation, as well as on-orbit construction Ever since the dawn of the Space Programs, Space and assembly. Some of the more notable missions Servicing (also known as "On-Orbit Servicing") has include the rescue of Westar and Palapa satellites, motivated and captured the imagination of space Hubble Servicing Missions and the current enthusiasts and engineers alike for over four decades. International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. As a general broad definition, Space Servicing Unplanned exercises for the Canadarm have included encompasses such on-orbit activities as spacecraft-to- knocking a block of ice from a clogged waste-water spacecraft rendezvous, inspection and docking, payload vent that might have endangered the shuttle upon re- and satellite deployment, manipulation, retrieval, re- entry, pushing a faulty antenna into place, and supply and repair; as well as satellite re-orbiting and successfully activating a satellite (using a swatter made de-orbiting. for briefing covers) that failed to go into proper orbit. To-date, the Canadarm has performed flawlessly on all Many of the above space servicing tasks have already its missions. been performed by various automation and robotics systems, or by astronauts and cosmonauts. New All four Canadarms in active duty have recently been robotics systems are currently being deployed that will upgraded in anticipation of the more challenging ISS further demonstrate those capabilities. All these will assembly and operations missions. For example, all help support new opportunities and applications that the Canadarm joints have been modified to enhance the are emerging in the horizon. payload handling capability to 100,000 kg, which gives the Canadarm the ability to berth the Shuttle itself to 2 PAST DEVELOPMENT the ISS. The Canadarm is key to almost all ISS assembly missions and will remain an integral part of Many countries around the world has endeavoured in the U.S. shuttle fleet for many years to come. space robotics development, notably Japan, United States, Europe, Russia and Canada. Canada in particular has chosen space robotics as one of its strategic development areas and continues to make significant technology investments on such. 2.1 Shuttle Remote Manipulator System Perhaps the most well known robotics system that has ever flown is the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System ("SRMS"), also known as the "Canadarm". Since its debut in 1981, The Canadarm has successfully flown more than 50 missions on the U.S. fleet of five Space Shuttles (including Challenger). The Canadarm is a six (6) degrees of freedom remote manipulator comprising of an upper and lower arm boom, an end effector, and a control workstation at the aft flight deck of the shuttle Figure 1: "Canadarm" Shuttle Remote Manipulator System on Hubble Servicing Mission Table 1: Canadarm Technical Details by an astronaut or the SPDM. Canadarm2 also has the additional features of four TV cameras that feed wide Canadarm Key Parameters and close-up views to the operators, force moment Length: 15.2m sensing and control to enhance smooth robotics Mass: 410 kg operations, collision-avoidance to ensure operational Speed of Movement: Unloaded 60 cm/sec safety, and an advanced vision systems to track Loaded 6 cm/sec payloads. The key Canadarm2 paramaters is Wrist Joint: Pitch/Yaw/Roll summarised in Table 2 Elbow Joint: Pitch Shoulder Joint: Pitch/Yaw Upper & Lower Arm Boom: Composite Material Rotational Hand Controller: Pitch/Yaw/Roll Translational Hand Controller: Left/Right/Up/Down/ Forward/Backward Control/Sensing Astronaut/Automatic 2.2 Space Station Remote Manipulator System Perhaps the most sophisticated space robotics system ever flown, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System ("SSRMS") was successfully launched, installed and checked-out on the recent STS-100 Mission in April 2001. Also known as "Canadarm2", Figure 2: "Canadarm2" International Space the SSRMS is a seven (7) degrees of freedom metre Station Remote Manipulator System long arm capable of handling large payloads of up to 100,000 kg mass, including the Shuttle itself. The 7 The Canadarm2 was successfully installed on the ISS DOF configuration gives it a greater ability to bend, by Canadian astronaut Chris Hatfield and his fellow rotate and maneuver itself into difficult spots. Since astronaut Scott Parazynski on April 22nd, 2001 and Canadarm2 can almost fully rotate all of its joints, it is within days, broke some new ground for Space more agile than a human arm and provides a critical Servicing. The first "inchworm" manoeuvre was capability for the complex ISS operational successfully executed when Canadarm2 grasped a environment. Unlike the Shuttle Canadarm, the ISS PDGF on the U.S. "Destiny" lab module and step out Canadarm2 is not permanently anchored at the of its launch pallet transferring its anchor point from shoulder joint but is equipped on either side with the one hand to the other - taking its first maiden step on same Latching End Effector (LEE) that can be used as ISS. As well, near the end of the STS-100 mission, anchor point while the opposite one performs various Canadarm2 picked up its launch pallet still attached to robotics tasks, including grabbing another connecting ISS and passed it back to the Shuttle's Canadarm, point on the ISS. This gives the Canadarm2 a unique thereby completing the first robotics "handshake" in capability to move around the ISS like an "inchworm", space (Figure 2). Canadarm2 is now fully operational flipping end-over-end among Power Data Grapple on the ISS to fulfil its critical mission of ISS assembly Fixtures (PDGFs) located on the ISS. As well, the ISS and operations. will later be equipped with the Mobile Based System (MBS), which services as a storage location and work platform for astronauts; and the Mobile Transporter (MT), which can transport both Canadarm2 and the MBS from one end of the ISS main truss to another. This provides a second mode of mobility for Canadarm2. Also unlike the Shuttle Canadarm, the ISS Canadarm2 is designed to stay in space for more than 15 years. This requirement necessitates an innovative design feature which allows astronauts or other robotics systems (such as the Special Purpose Dexterous Maniplator or "SPDM" that will be described in a later section) to repair Canadarm2 on-orbit. Canadarm2 is build in sections called Orbital Replaceable Units Figure 3. First robotics "handshake" in space (ORU's) which are easily removed and then replaced between Canadarm and Canadarm2 Page 2 Table 2: Canadarm2 Technical Details The ETS-VII experiments along with NASDA's earlier Manipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD) on STS-85 Canadarm2 Key Parameters not only helped validate some of the specific Japanese Length: 17.6m space robotics technologies, but also provided the Mass: 1641 kg world space robotics community at large valuable Average Power: 1360W insights into the challenges and solutions for space Peak Power: 2000W servicing in general. Speed of Movement: Unloaded 37 cm/sec Loaded 2-15 cm/sec Stopping Distance: 0.6 m Wrist Joint: Pitch/Yaw/Roll Elbow Joint: Pitch Shoulder Joint: Pitch/Yaw/Roll Joint Movements: 540 degrees Upper & Lower Arm Boom: Composite Material (19 plies) Boom Diameter: 35 cm Cameras: Four (4) Rotational Hand Controller: Pitch/Yaw/Roll Translational Hand Controller: Left/Right/Up/Down/ Forward/Backward Control/Sensing Astronaut/Automatic Force/Moment Control Collision Avoidance Figure 4: ETS-VII launch configuration Other features Identical on both ends Built-in-redundancy Repairable in space (built in ORU sections) 2.3 ETS-VII Unlike the Canadarm or Canadarm2 which were built for servicing new infrastructures in space (i.e. Shuttle and ISS), the ETS-VII mission (Ref.1) was flown by NASDA as a testing ground for robotics and space servicing technologies. The ETS-VII satellite was launched on November 28th, 1997 and successfully conducted a series of rendezvous, docking and space robotic technology experiments. Some of the key Figure 5: ETS-VII On-Orbit Experiments experiments executed by the ETS-VII mission include: q Visual inspection of on-board equipment by robotic vision system q Handling of orbital replacement unit (ORU) and fuel (simulated) supply experiment 3 PRESENT DEVELOPMENT q Handling of small equipment by ETS-VII small robot arm including the use of a taskboard handling tool The next few years will promise to be very exciting for the space servicing community at large, with several q Handling of truss structure new robotics systems currently under final q Antenna assembly experiment development and scheduled to be flown. This includes q Ground teleoperation of ETS-VII robot the European Robotics Arm (ERA), the Japanese q Handling and berthing of the 410kg ETS-VII target satellite with ETS-VII robot on chaser Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System satellite (JEMRMS), the U.S.
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