Description:

Artistic render of robotic tools. Credit: NASA

Robotic tools will be necessary for both refueling customer spacecraft and servicing the prospecting and mining spacecraft. To meet these needs, the project intends to reutilize a set of six tools delivered to the ISS by the NASA RRM mission to be used with the robotic arm, Dextre. These tools are capable of completing tasks such as gas fittings removal, material cutting (as small as 0.5 mm in diameter), valve removal, component storage, liquid transfer through refueling hoses, screw and bolt removal, component return and assembly and visual inspections. These capabilities align naturally with the tasks that will be needed in its new role.

Sources:

• https://sspd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rrm_refueling_task.html
• https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/778.html
• https://sspd.gsfc.nasa.gov/robotic_refueling_mission.html
• https://sspd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rrm_phase2.html#hardware
• https://sspd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rrm_phase2vipir.html

Return to Engineering Hardware list