NASA's robotic refueling demo set to jumpstart expanded capabilities in space
In
mid-January, NASA will take the next step in advancing robotic
satellite-servicing technologies as it tests the Robotic Refueling Mission, or
RRM aboard the International Space Station. The investigation may one day
substantially impact the many satellites that deliver products Americans rely
upon daily, such as weather reports, cell phones and television news. During
five days of operations, controllers from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency
will use the space station's remotely operated Special Purpose Dexterous
Manipulator, or Dextre, robot to simulate robotic refueling in space. Operating
a space-based robotic arm from the ground is a feat on its own, but NASA will
do more than just robotics work as controllers remotely snip wires, unscrew
caps and transfer simulated fuel. The team also will demonstrate tools,
technologies and techniques that could one day make satellites in space
greener, more robust and more capable of delivering essential services to
people on Earth.
Why Fix
or Refuel a Satellite?
"Every
satellite has a lifespan and eventual retirement date, determined by the
reliability of its components and how much fuel it can carry," explains
Benjamin Reed, deputy project manager of NASA's Satellite Servicing
Capabilities Office, or SSCO.
Repairing
and refueling satellites already in place, Reed asserts, can be far less
expensive than building and launching entirely new spacecraft, potentially
saving millions, even billions of dollars and many years of work.
The RRM
demonstration specifically tests what it would take to repair and refuel
satellites traveling the busy space highway of geosynchronous Earth orbit, or
GEO. Located about 22,000 miles above Earth, this orbital path is home to more
than 400 satellites, many of which beam communications, television and weather
data to customers worldwide.
By
developing robotic capabilities to repair and refuel GEO satellites, NASA hopes
to add precious years of functional life to satellites and expand options for
operators who face unexpected emergencies, tougher economic demands and aging
fleets. NASA also hopes that these new technologies will help boost the
commercial satellite-servicing industry that is rapidly gaining momentum.
Besides
aiding the GEO satellite community, a capability to fix and relocate
"ailing" satellites also could help manage the growing orbital debris
problem that threatens continued space operations, ultimately making space
greener and more sustainable.
How RRM
Is Making a Difference
Built
by SSCO in the span of 18 months, the washing-machine-sized RRM module contains
the components, activity boards and tools to practice several of the tasks that
would be performed in orbit during a real servicing mission. Launched to the
space station on July 8, 2011, aboard the final mission of the Space Shuttle
Program, RRM was the last payload an astronaut ever removed from a shuttle.
In
2012, RRM demonstrated dexterous robotic operations in space. Dextre's 12-foot
arm and accompanying RRM tool successfully snipped two twisted wires -- each
the thickness of two sheets of paper -- with only a few millimeters of
clearance: a task essential to the satellite refueling process.
The RRM
refueling demonstration on Jan. 14-24 will employ the Canadian-built Dextre,
NASA's RRM module and four unique RRM tools to show that space robots
controlled from Earth -- hundreds or even thousands of miles below -- can
transfer fuel to satellites with triple-sealed valves that were never designed
to be accessed.
"The
RRM operations team is very excited about the upcoming refueling
demonstration," says Charlie Bacon, RRM operations manager. "Over the
last two years, the team has put in more than 300 hours of preparation --
reviewing procedures, running simulations, and communicating with team members
from other NASA centers and our international partners. When we finally execute
the namesake task of RRM, we anticipate that our work will culminate in proving
that in-orbit satellite refueling is no longer future technology -- it's
current technology."
Although
the RRM module will never fix or refuel a satellite itself, its advanced tools
and practice runs are laying the foundation for future in-orbit robotic
servicing missions. Additional RRM demonstrations will continue into 2013, with
a new round of servicing task boards, tools and activities slated to continue
its investigations through 2015.
What's
Next in Robotic Satellite Servicing?
The
satellite-servicing concept that RRM is advancing is one that NASA has been
developing for years. Beginning with the Solar Maximum repair mission in 1984,
the servicing philosophy paved the way for five successful astronaut-based
missions to upgrade and repair the Hubble Space Telescope and has been
practiced more recently in spacewalks to assemble and maintain the space
station.
With
the RRM on the space station and a robust technology development campaign being
conducted on the ground, NASA is testing capabilities for a new robotic
servicing frontier. Since 2009, the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office at
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., has been aggressively
advancing the robotic technologies for a free-flying servicer spacecraft that
could access, repair and refuel satellites in GEO.
To this
end, the SSCO team has been studying a conceptual servicing mission and building
technologies to address uncharted territory such as autonomous rendezvous and
docking, propellant transfer systems for zero gravity and specialized
algorithms (computer commands) to orchestrate and synchronize
satellite-servicing operations. A systems engineering review on this conceptual
mission was recently conducted with positive responses from peer experts and
external participants.
Reed
and the SSCO team see many applications across NASA for these new,
game-changing capabilities.
"The
technologies we're building to help rescue satellites in five years could be
the very same ones used to clean up space ten years in the future or save a
spacecraft on the way to Mars 30 years from now," says Reed. "NASA is
acting today to ensure that we have the capabilities America needs for the
future. With satellite servicing technologies, we're bolstering the agency's
long-term strategy as we invest in near-term tactical technology investments.
RRM is just the beginning."
Leave Your Comments!
Share What’s Going on
in your brain about the Topic. We need Your Response . Feel free to leave comments!
Posted by Unknown
on Friday, January 11, 2013.
Filed under
Space and Time
.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0