Robotic Eyes Assist Satellite Repairs In Space

First Posted: Nov 04, 2015 12:19 PM EST
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NASA is developing new robotic technologies that will repair and service satellites in distant orbits. These robots will be operated with joysticks by technicians on the ground and they will carry out hands-on tasks that are required. 

NASA's Visual Inspection Poseable Invertebrate Robot (VIPIR) is a robotic, articulating borescope, which is equipped with zoom camera lens that will enable mission operators to use robotic eyes to detect meteoroid strikes and in satellite repair jobs, according to a NASA statement.

Earlier this year, NASA successfully demonstrated the VIPIR's capabilities. NASA is planning to use VIPIR in their Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), which is in the second stage of its on-orbit demonstration aboard the International Space Station.

At the moment, RRM is using Dextre, which is a two-armed robotic handyman from the Canadian Space Agency, to demonstrate how robots can service and refuel satellites in space. In the RRM's third stage, NASA's Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office team is planning to do a demonstration by transferring xenon, a colorless, dense noble gas,which is useful for powering ion engines, according to the study. 

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