DocM Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Geared to pave the way towards refueling depots in both orbital and beyond orbital space.... http://www.universetoday.com/87419/revolutionary-robotic-refueling-experiment-opens-new-research-avenues-at-space-station/ NASA?s new Robotic Refueling Experiment (RRM) is a revolutionary technology demonstration device ? brought aloft by the final shuttle mission - that will test out and prove whether existing Earth orbiting spacecraft that were never intended to be serviced can be successfully refueled and repaired robotically.The RRM payload- nicknamed ?Rosie? ? is a state of the art path finding experiment that promises to open exciting new avenues of station science research that potentially could save and extend the lifetime of orbiting commercial, government and military satellites valued at billions of dollars. RRM was delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) by the four person crew of STS-135, the shuttles grand finale. The project is a joint effort between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). During the very final spacewalk of the Space Shuttle Era, RRM was temporarily installed by US astronauts Mike Fossum and Ron Garan onto a platform on the Dextre robot ? the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator ? which functions as a ?handyman? in space. Dextre is a two armed robot provided by CSA which is also a key component of the experiment because it enables the performance of repair and maintenance tasks at the heart of the RRM experiment. > (long) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 looks nice, precisely the kind of technology we need to be developing more of. finally the Canadians are up to something useful :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Canada's been doing a lot useful - MDA Space Missions, a subsidiary of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., made the Canadarms used on the Shuttle and the Canadarm2 used on the ISS. They are also working on smaller arms for use on Dragon and Dream Chaser. MDA itself is a world leader in Earth observation, research and surgical robotics and has been for quite a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 they have so much space over there, they should be using it to test propulsion systems and stuff :laugh: not belittling their contribution, those arms and optics are obviously mission critical to the greater effort, but Canada by all rights should be a spacing superpower. they sure attract a lot of gifted engineers and scientists from all over the world, and they're not exactly a poor country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Sadly the Canadian govt. decided having a major aerospace sector wasn't a priority. As a result Canadians seeking those careers end up here, at EADS or where ever. Bigelow has tried to get the govt. interested in their Space Complex's but so far no-go. Sad state of affairs IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 indeed sad, Canada is wasting so much potential. their governments tend to be so conservative with spending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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