Canadarm
Canadarm
The Canadarm, in the time of its development, was the most technological robot of its time. The robot was built by Canada, under the direction of the National Research Council of Canada, and signed over to the National Aeronautical and Space Agency (NASA) in February of 1981 for utilization on space shuttle missions. When attached to the space shuttle, the advanced robotic system is known as the Shuttle Manipulator System.
The system was designed in the likeness of a human-like arm with an elbow and six joints that could move in numerous positions and rotate. The arm was about 50 feet long, weighed about 900 pounds, and had six degrees of freedom (Canadian Space Agency, 2018). The robotic system was utilized in conjunction with space shuttles missions to maneuver, deploy, and capture orbiting payloads. The Canadarm System was utilized for 30 years until its retirement in July 2011 after the space shuttle mission STS-135.
In 2001, building on the success of the Shuttle Manipulator System (Canadarm), the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (Canadarm2), was built. This robotic arm is part of a larger system known as the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) that services the International Space Station. The MSS system is composed of three sophisticated robotic systems that can work independently or together and were designed to assist in the construction and maintenance of the International Space Station (ISS), assist in the mobility of payloads and supplies around the space station, and support and aid astronauts working in space.
Canadarm2
The Canadarm2 section of the Mobile Servicing System is the second generation and is a larger, smarter, and more advance version of the original Canadarm. The Canadarm2 is over 58 feet long and has seven motorized flexing joints and three rotary joints for movement. The arm has the capability of handling payload that weigh up to 256,000 pounds (Kauderer, 2018). Design enhancement from the original version was the addition of a Mobile Remote Service Base System (MBS) that is attached to rails that transverses the entire length of the ISS and a Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), known as Dextre. Another enhancement was the addition of two latching end effectors on each end of the Canadarm2 which allow for the addition and removal of additional robotic components (Chen et al, 2014).
Future Developments
Canadarm3
In March of 2020, Canada joined NASA’s Lunar Gateway Project with the announcement that the country would contribute to the project with the construction of a Canada3 robotic arm. The arm would be smaller than the Canadarm2. Unlike previous generations, the Canadarm3 would be the most sophisticated and smart. The system would operate autonomously with little or no input from human operators. The system would continuously repair and perform maintenance on the Lunar Gateway even when no astronauts are on board the Gateway.
References
Canadian Space Agency. (2018). About Dextre. Retrieved from https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/dextre/about.asp
Chen, G., Zhang, L., Jia, Q., & Sun, H. (2014). Singularity analysis of redundant space robot with the structure of Canadarm2. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2014, 1-9. doi:10.1155/2014/735030
Doetsch, K. H., & Lindberg, G. (2015). Canadarm | The Canadian encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadarm
Kauderer, A. (2018). NASA—Canadarm2 and the mobile servicing system. Retrieved from http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/mobile-servicing-system.html
