Testing the International Space Station's Robotic Refueling Mission

In an important demonstration of new technical methodologies, from January 14-24, 2013, NASA engineers will try to simulate the transfer of fuel from one vehicle to another, in space, with nothing but robots doing the physical work. Called the Robotic Refueling Mission, it's a major step on the road to developing a robust suite of essential robotic capabilities in space. This International Space Station demo may one day substantially impact the many satellites that deliver products people rely upon daily, such as weather reports, cell phones, and television news.

Transcript

00:00:01 [Music] I live for somebody to tell me you can't do that it'll never work but you wouldn't be crazy to wonder if sending a robot to refuel an operational spacecraft might run that risk but you know Engineers have imaginations consider this every satellite flying right now is bespoke handwrought customized detailed and extremely

00:00:31 expensive that's why it pays to figure out how to repair and refuel the things rather than just replace them there's just one problem that's hard to do just getting the robot to go where you want it to go they don't position precisely so you have to do things like build lead in into the tool and Astronaut could probably just get it right on there cuz he's he's right there just like

00:00:52 performing at Carnegie Hall satellite repair missions demand rigorous practice and the big practice session on Deck is called robotic refueling Mission or RRM at Maryland's Gard space flight center Mission planners use a motion simulation platform to figure out how to get all the parts working together when a robot arm Clips a wire this fall it'll be one small snip for robots one giant leap in

00:01:18 the business of space-based satellite servicing the last space shuttle flight delivered Hardware looking a lot like this right to International Space Station it's a box of practice equipment a busy board valves nozzles clamps and more to simulate the side of an actual satellite a Canadian robot called Dexter will interact with the practice gear it's different in space than here on the

00:01:43 ground but that's kind of the point the whole thing is a learning experience a big one we are showing folks that we had the capability to use the existing robot that was not meant to be used with tools to work on RM and we've adapted those tools to make them compatible with the Dexter robot and also compatible with our mock satellite interfaces that we have on RM the robot

00:02:06 is very stiff rigid interface it's not forgiving like an astronaut's hand when you push on something really hard with a robot you build up really large contact forces when the astronaut pushes on something his wrist might give you know that's he's got his own internal sort of software compliance running station astronauts won't be involved this will be a mission run from the ground RRM

00:02:28 will demonstrate a number of essential tasks at the end it'll attempt a first ofit kind simulated fuel transfer between two pieces of Hardware not so easy when you're orbiting the planet at 18,000 mph it's really exciting to feel like you're you're working at the front of the way and the work that our team is doing is it's Uncharted Territory the

00:02:53 robotic refueling Mission augures a revolution in spacecraft operation and design it may be a rehearsal for bigger things to come but it's also a direct expression of a space agency with big ideas [Music]