On-Orbit Servicing Workshop

14 November 2001

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) sponsored an on-orbit servicing workshop at the Aerospace Corporation’s facility in El Segundo, CA.  One of our team members attended the workshop and gave a briefing on the capabilities of the robotic systems developed by the Space Systems Laboratory, including Ranger.

Thanks to Dr. Russ Howard and Dr. Craig Carignan for putting together a slide summarizing the evolution of robotic arms in the SSL over the years for the presentation.

Engineering wrist run-in testing

9 November 2001

The engineering wrist was run for over 40 hours.  Below is a sample of some of the video that was recorded of its operation (click on the pictures below to start the video).

External view of the wrist operating (466 Kb QuickTime)

View from the wrist camera (455 Kb QuickTime)

Simulated orbital replacement unit pass (706 Kb QuickTime)

The International Society for Optical Engineering
Intelligent Systems and Advanced Manufacturing Conference
Telemanipulators and Telepresence Technologies VIII

28 October 2001

A group from our team wrote a paper describing the status of the Ranger Telerobotic Shuttle Experiment and it was presented at a telemanipulators and telepresence technologies conference in Boston, MA.

Engineering positioning leg and wrist run-in testing

October 2001

The first piece of hardware to be tested was a engineering positioning leg (PXL) pitch joint. The joint was cycled for over 100 hours and video of the testing is shown on the left below. The second piece of hardware to be tested was the engineering wrist. It was also cycled for over 100 hours and video of its testing is shown on the right below.

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last updated: 13 September 2005