Back to the Future - Serviceable Spacecraft Make a Comeback
November 5, 2015 | NASAEstimated reading time: 7 minutes
Also needed is a robotic servicing vehicle. Reed said his organization has focused on developing that capability, as well. For the past few years, the organization has pursued a notional mission called Restore, which would be capable of refueling satellites in both geostationary and low-Earth orbits.
Key servicing technologies, he said, are baselined for NASA’s proposed asteroid mission, ARM, which involves the capture of a large boulder from the surface of a near-Earth asteroid and moving it into a stable orbit around the moon for astronaut exploration. The same type of spacecraft also could refuel a government satellite in low-Earth orbit, as called for in NASA’s RFI.
“I can imagine a fleet of Restores,” Reed said. “A single servicer could refuel and service WFIRST and another future observatory at the SEL2 orbit. Another could be parked in another orbit for other servicing tasks, such as helping assemble a 65-foot segmented mirror in space, he said.
“We’re taking all we learned over the past many years, robots and humans working together,” Keer added. “Our attitude here is you have to have one foot in the future. We expect to be on the cutting edge. Servicing at more distant orbits, such as SEL2, is coming,” she said.
Page 3 of 3Suggested Items
Future Innovators Challenged by UK Robotics Leaders to Design Nuclear Fission and Fusion Decommissioning Robots
05/09/2024 | RAICoStudents in West Cumbria have been tasked by the Robotics and AI Collaboration (RAICo) and the Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH) to design and build robots which will be showcased at a major robotics and artificial intelligence (RAI) industry event.
U.S. Companies Invest Heavily in Robots
04/30/2024 | IFRManufacturing companies in the United States have invested heavily in more automation: total installations of industrial robots rose by 12% and reached 44,303 units in 2023. Number one adopter is the car industry followed by the electrical and electronics sector.
Scape Technologies Introduces SCAPE CoCreator at Hannover Messe 2024
04/18/2024 | Scape TechnologiesToday's industrial robotics, 3D Vision, and AI are often confined by costs, complexity, and limited accessibility and usability. Scape Technologies is revolutionizing this field by broadening the horizons of what is possible.
Neura Robotics and OMRON Forge Strategic Alliance to Revolutionize the Manufacturing Industry with Cognitive Robots
04/16/2024 | BUSINESS WIRENeura Robotics, a global pioneer in cognitive robotics, and Omron Robotics and Safety Technologies Inc., a global leader in industrial robotics and automation, are excited to announce their strategic partnership.
RAICo Fellowship to Widen Participation Within the Field of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
04/12/2024 | RAICoWOMEN and those early in their academia career who are passionate about robotics and artificial intelligence are encouraged to apply for a RAICo Fellowship.