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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Future Space Transportation Technology: Prospects and Priorities

The Transportation Working Group (TWG) was chartered by the NASA Exploration Team (NEXT) to conceptualize, define, and advocate within NASA the space transportation architectures and technologies required to enable the human and robotic exploration and development of space envisioned by the NEXT. In 2002, the NEXT tasked the TWG to assess exploration space transportation requirements versus current and prospective Earth-to-Orbit (ETO) and in-space transportation systems, technologies, and research, in order to identify investment gaps and recommend priorities. The result was a study now being incorporated into future planning by the NASA Space Architect and supporting organizations. This paper documents the process used to identify exploration space transportation investment gaps, as well as the group's recommendations for closing these gaps and prioritizing areas of future investment for NASA work on advanced propulsion systems.

Billie, Matt↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Tendon-Actuated Lightweight In-Space MANipulator (TALISMAN) Hinge Joint Structural Performance

The Tendon Actuated Lightweight In-Space MANipulator (TALISMAN), invented and initially developed under the Space Technology Mission Directorate Human Robotics Systems program, is a tendon-actuated robot that established a new structural architecture for long-reach space manipulators. The TALISMAN is designed to have significant stiffness and strength in the plane of the tendons or cables, and operations are designed such that all primary loads are applied in that same plane. However, during normal operations it is possible for out-of-plane forces to be applied on the TALISMAN when secondary loads are imparted by a tool or action at the wrist. These secondary loading conditions will induce out-of-plane bending loads in the TALISMAN hinge joints. The TALISMAN hinge joints must be designed for these out-of-plane loads, to ensure no failure of the joint occurs during operations. A series hinge joint out-of-plane stiffness tests were conducted at five different joint angles; at three cable pre-loads from 25-lbf to 100-lbf; up to an equivalent out-of-plane tip load of 27.28-lbf at the end of a 51-in. long distal link. The objective of the tests was to provide an initial set of deflection, cable load, and strain data to inform accurate modeling of the hinge joint out-of-plane stiffness. The test objective was achieved by developing an FEM of the hinge joint able to predict tip displacement to within 10% of values measured in tests. The hinge joint FEM may now be implemented into a full-scale analysis model of the TALISMAN V2.0 to provide predictions of out-of-plane displacement under different load and joint angle conditions.

Matthew K Mahlin↗
NASA NTRS2016

Hexapod Robot

The project I am working on at NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX is a hexapod robot. This project was started by various engineers at the Trick Lab. The goal of this project is to have the hexapod track a yellow ball or possibly another object from left to right and up/down. The purpose is to have it track an object like a real creature. The project will consist of using software and hardware. This project started with a hexapod robot which uses a senor bar to track a yellow ball but with a limited field of vision. The sensor bar acts as the robots "head." Two servos will be added to the hexapod to create flexion and extension of the head. The neck and head servos will have to be programmed to be added to the original memory map of the existing servos. I will be using preexisting code. The main programming language that will be used to add to the preexisting code is C++. The trick modeling and simulation software will also be used in the process to improve its tracking and movement. This project will use a trial and error approach, basically seeing what works and what does not. The first step is to initially understand how the hexapod works. To get a general understanding of how the hexapod maneuvers and plan on how to had a neck and head servo which works with the rest of the body. The second step would be configuring the head and neck servos with the leg servos. During this step, limits will be programmed specifically for the each servo. By doing this, the servo is limited to how far it can rotate both clockwise and counterclockwise and this is to prevent hardware damage. The hexapod will have two modes in which it works in. The first mode will be if the sensor bar does not detect an object. If the object it is programmed to look for is not in its view it will automatically scan from left to right 3 times then up and down once. The second mode will be if the sensor bar does detect the object. In this mode the hexapod will track the object from left to right or up and down. The hexapod will eventually be able to track the object moving its head and body in sync with on another and being able to rotate its body at 360 degrees. This is the plans and possible end results for the hexapod robot I will be working on during my summer internship at NASA Johnson Space Center. Since working on the hexapod project I have gained an increase interest in robotics. I enjoy the process of critical thinking. Also will working on this project I was challenged in a way that made more passionate to strive even more to become an engineer. I've learned that asking questions is an important part of the learning process. Also I learn that much more is accomplished when teamwork is applied.

Begody, Ericka↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ISRU Pilot Excavator Wheel Testing in Lunar Regolith Simulant

The ISRU Pilot Excavator, or IPEx, is a robotic excavator funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The Concept of Operations for IPEx involves the robot driving on the lunar surface up to 70 km at a speed of up to 30 cm/s. As such, it is critical to the mission’s success to optimize the design of the wheels for performance in lunar conditions, specifically in lunar regolith. To achieve this, an array of tests was completed to observe the effects of various wheel design choices on the driving performance of the wheels in lunar regolith simulant. In order to facilitate testing, we designed a 12” dia. configurable wheel to allow for interchangeability between various wheel formations. Two types of wheel parts were designed to be swapped: cleats, which form the tread of the wheel; and grousers, which protrude from the treads. The test variables that we considered were as follows: square vs. round wheel shape, solid vs. perforated cleats, cleat spacing, grouser height, and grouser spacing. By combining different settings of each of these test variables, ten discrete wheel designs were created and tested. The configurable test wheels were mounted on the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) developed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. In our experiments, the robot was driven at a controlled speed across a prepared surface of BP-1 lunar regolith simulant. Four types of tests were conducted: circle driving, straight driving, slope driving, and drawbar pull. The driving tests were chosen to mimic a variety of conditions in which IPEx may be expected to operate, and the drawbar pull test was chosen to provide a standard of comparison with existing wheel design literature. The circle and straight driving tests were each performed at different levels: for the circle driving test, the robot was driven at a constant linear speed and three different angular speeds, while for the straight driving test, the robot was driven at three different linear speeds. The data collected from these tests included the power usage from each of the wheels, measurements of the tread patterns left in the regolith surface, and the amount of slip the wheels experienced, which was calculated using data from an OptiTrack motion capture system. From the results of these experiments, we found that certain test variables were more significant than others in determining performance for each type of test, and no single wheel design clearly outperformed the others in all areas. The details of our findings will be discussed further in this paper. This data will be utilized to inform the design of the wheels for IPEx and can provide a basis for the design of wheels for future lunar terrain vehicles.

RASSOR↗
NASA NTRS1992

A method for planning collision free trajectories for two cooperating robots

Robotic systems designed specifically for space applications often exhibit a high level of autonomy to reduce the costs associated with having humans in space. This paper presents a method for autonomously planning collision free paths for two cooperating robots in a static environment. The method performs selective mapping of configuration space while attempting to locate a safe path. The method is based around an algorithm aimed at transversing a space of arbitrary dimension which contains both safe and unsafe regions. While the procedure cannot guarantee finding a solution even if one may exist, it is intended to find a solution to many practical path planning problems within a reasonable amount of time. Results are presented for applying the procedure to two cooperating six degree of freedom manipulators (Puma 560s).

Weaver, Jonathan M.↗
NASA NTRS2017

The Influence of Robotic Assistance on Reducing Neuromuscular Effort and Fatigue during Extravehicular Activity Glove Use

The three-layered, pressurized space suit glove worn by Extravehicular Activity (EVA) crew members during missions commonly causes hand and forearm fatigue. The Spacesuit RoboGlove (SSRG), a Phase VI EVA space suit glove modified with robotic grasp-assist capabilities, has been developed to augment grip strength in order to improve endurance and reduce the risk of injury in astronauts. The overall goals of this study were to i) quantify the neuromuscular modulations that occur in response to wearing a conventional Phase VI space suit glove (SSG) during a fatiguing task, and ii) determine the efficacy of Spacesuit RoboGlove (SSRG) in reversing the adverse neuromuscular modulations and restoring altered muscular activity to barehanded levels. Six subjects performed a fatigue sequence consisting of repetitive dynamic-gripping interspersed with isometric grip-holds under three conditions: barehanded, wearing pressurized SSG, and wearing pressurized SSRG. Surface electromyography (sEMG) from six forearm muscles (flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), flexor carpi radialis (FCR), flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU), extensor digitorum (ED), extensor carpi radialis longus (ECRL), and extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU)) and subjective fatigue ratings were collected during each condition. Trends in amplitude and spectral distributions of the sEMG signals were used to derive metrics quantifying neuromuscular effort and fatigue that were compared across the glove conditions. Results showed that by augmenting finger flexion, the SSRG successfully reduced the neuromuscular effort needed to close the fingers of the space suit glove in more than half of subjects during two types of tasks. However, the SSRG required more neuromuscular effort to extend the fingers compared to a conventional SSG in many subjects. Psychologically, the SSRG aided subjects in feeling less fatigued during short periods of intense work compared to the SSG. The results of this study reveal the promise of the SSRG as a grasp-assist device that can improve astronaut performance and reduce the risk of injury by offsetting neuromuscular effort. Modifications to the experimental protocol are needed, however, to improve the outcome of the neuromuscular fatigue metrics and determine the effectiveness of SSRG in increasing astronaut endurance. Nevertheless, these findings will improve the understanding of astronaut-spacesuit interaction and provide direction toward designing improved spacesuit gloves and robotic-assist devices, like the SSRG.

Madden, Kaci E.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Results from the NASA Capability Roadmap Team for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)

On January 14, 2004, the President of the United States unveiled a new vision for robotic and human exploration of space entitled, "A Renewed Spirit of Discovery". As stated by the President in the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), NASA must "... implement a sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the solar system and beyond " and ".. .develop new technologies and harness the moon's abundant resources to allow manned exploration of more challenging environments." A key to fulfilling the goal of sustained and affordable human and robotic exploration will be the ability to use resources that are available at the site of exploration to "live off the land" instead of bringing everything from Earth, known as In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). ISRU can significantly reduce the mass, cost, and risk of exploration through capabilities such as: mission consumable production (propellants, fuel cell reagents, life support consumables, and feedstock for manufacturing & construction); surface construction (radiation shields, landing pads, walls, habitats, etc.); manufacturing and repair with in-situ resources (spare parts, wires, trusses, integrated systems etc.); and space utilities and power from space resources. On January 27th, 2004 the President's Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy (Aldridge Committee) was created and its final report was released in June 2004. One of the report's recommendations was to establish special project teams to evaluate enabling technologies, of which "Planetary in situ resource utilization" was one of them. Based on the VSE and the commission's final report, NASA established fifteen Capability Roadmap teams, of which ISRU was one of the teams established. From Oct. 2004 to May 2005 the ISRU Capability Roadmap team examined the capabilities, benefits, architecture and mission implementation strategy, critical decisions, current state-of-the-art (SOA), challenges, technology gaps, and risks of ISRU for future human Moon and Mars exploration. This presentation will provide an overview of the ISRU capability, architecture, and implementation strategy examined by the ISRU Capability Roadmap team, along with a top-level review of ISRU benefits, resources and products of interest, and the current SOA in ISRU processes and systems. The presentation will also highlight the challenges of incorporating ISRU into future missions and the gaps in technologies and capabilities that need to be filled to enable ISRU.

Sanders, Gerald B.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Space Station crew workload - Station operations and customer accommodations

The features of the Space Station which permit crew members to utilize work time for payload operations are discussed. The user orientation, modular design, nonstressful flight regime, in space construction, on board control, automation and robotics, and maintenance and servicing of the Space Station are examined. The proposed crew size, skills, and functions as station operator and mission specialists are described. Mission objectives and crew functions, which include performing material processing, life science and astronomy experiments, satellite and payload equipment servicing, systems monitoring and control, maintenance and repair, Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle and Mobile Remote Manipulator System operations, on board planning, housekeeping, and health maintenance and recreation, are studied.

Shinkle, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Personnel occupied woven envelope robot power

The Human Occupied Space Teleoperator (HOST) system currently under development utilizes a flexible tunnel/Stewart table structure to provide crew access to a pressurized manned work station or POD on the space station without extravehicular activity (EVA). The HOST structure facilitates moving a work station to multiple space station locations. The system has applications to orbiter docking, space station assembly, satellite servicing, space station maintenance, and logistics support. The conceptual systems design behind HOST is described in detail.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1995

Basic space payload fastener

A new basic space fastener has been developed and tested by the GSFC. The purposes of this fastener are to permit assembly and servicing in space by astronauts and/or robots and to facilitate qualification of payloads on Earth prior to launch by saving time and money during the systems integration and component testing and qualification processes. The space fastener is a rework of the basic machine screw such that crossthreading is impossible; it is self-locking and will not work its way out during launch (vibration proof); it will not wear out despite repeated use; it occupies a small foot print which is comparable to its machine screw equivalent, and it provides force and exhibits strength comparable to its machine screw equivalent. Construction is ultra-simple and cost effective and the principle is applicable across the full range of screw sizes ranging from a #10 screw to 2.5 cm (1 in) or more. In this paper, the fastener principles of operation will be discussed along with test results and construction details. The new fastener also has considerable potential in the commercial sector. A few promising applications will be presented.

Vranish, J. M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

AstroLoc: An Efficient and Robust Localizer for a Free-flying Robot

We present AstroLoc, an efficient and robust monocular visual-inertial graph-based localization system used by the Astrobee free-flying robots onboard the International Space Station (ISS). We provide a novel localization system that limits the traditionally higher computation times for graph-based localization systems and enables the resource constrained Astrobee robots to benefit from their increased accuracy. We also introduce methods for handling cheirality issues for visual odometry and localization factors that further increase localization robustness. We evaluate the performance of AstroLoc on a dataset of ISS activities and show that it greatly improves pose, velocity, and IMU bias estimation accuracy while efficiently running in a limited computation environment. The source code for AstroLoc is released to the public.

Localization↗
NASA NTRS1994

A Custom Robotic System for Inspecting HEPA Filters in the Payload Changeout Room at the NASA Kennedy Space Center

In this paper, the prime objective is to describe a custom 4-dof (degree-of-freedom) robotic arm capable of autonomously or telerobotically performing systematic HEPA filter inspection and certification in the Shuttle Launch Pad Payload Changeout Rooms (PCR's) on pads A and B at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This HEPA filter inspection robot (HFIR) has been designed to be easily deployable and is equipped with the necessary sensory devices, control hardware, software and man-machine interfaces needed to implement HEPA filter inspection reliably and efficiently without damaging the filters or colliding with existing PCR structures or filters. The main purpose of the HFIR is to implement an automated positioning system to move special inspection sensors in pre-defined or manual patterns for the purpose of verifying filter integrity and efficiency. This will ultimately relieve NASA Payload Operations from significant problems associated with time, cost and personnel safety, impacts realized during non-automated PCR HFIR filter certification.

Spencer, James E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Technology transfer and evaluation for Space Station telerobotics

The international space station (SS) must take advantage of advanced telerobotics in order to maximize productivity and safety and to reduce maintenance costs. The Automation and Robotics Division at the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) has designed, developed, and constructed the Automated Robotics Maintenance of Space Station (ARMSS) facility for the purpose of transferring and evaluating robotic technology that will reduce SS operation costs. Additionally, JSC had developed a process for expediting the transfer of technology from NASA research centers and evaluating these technologies in SS applications. Software and hardware system developed at the research centers and NASA sponsored universities are currently being transferred to JSC and integrated into the ARMSS for flight crew personnel testing. These technologies will be assessed relative to the SS baseline, and, after refinements, those technologies that provide significant performance improvements will be recommended as upgrades to the SS. Proximity sensors, vision algorithms, and manipulator controllers are among the systems scheduled for evaluation.

Price, Charles R.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Mobile Autonomous Humanoid Assistant

A mobile autonomous humanoid robot is assisting human co-workers at the Johnson Space Center with tool handling tasks. This robot combines the upper body of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robonaut system with a Segway(TradeMark) Robotic Mobility Platform yielding a dexterous, maneuverable humanoid perfect for aiding human co-workers in a range of environments. This system uses stereo vision to locate human team mates and tools and a navigation system that uses laser range and vision data to follow humans while avoiding obstacles. Tactile sensors provide information to grasping algorithms for efficient tool exchanges. The autonomous architecture utilizes these pre-programmed skills to form human assistant behaviors. The initial behavior demonstrates a robust capability to assist a human by acquiring a tool from a remotely located individual and then following the human in a cluttered environment with the tool for future use.

Diftler, M. A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Three years of observations from the International Space Station (ISS) by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III/ISS)

After completion of the robot installation on the International Space Station (ISS) in early March 2017 as an external hosted science payload, the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III became the newest member to the family of space-based solar occultation instruments operated by NASA to investigate the Earth’s upper atmosphere since the late 1970s. One of three identical instruments, the SAGE III/ISS mission was revived in the early 2010s with a primary objective to monitor the vertical distribution of aerosol, ozone and other trace gases to enhance understanding of ozone recovery and climate change processes in the upper atmosphere. Presented here is the mission architecture, its implementation, and data produced by SAGE III/ISS, including their precision and coverage. The 51.6-degree inclined orbit of the ISS is well-suited for solar occultation and provides near-global observations on a monthly basis with coverage of low and mid-latitudes similar to that of the SAGE II mission, which operated over two decades. The nominal science products, derived from sampling spectra covering 290nm to 1030nm and a photo-diode near 1550 nm, include high resolution vertical profiles of ozone, nitrogen dioxide and water vapor, along with multi-wavelength aerosol extinction. Although in the visible portion of the spectrum the brightness of the Sun is a million times that of the full Moon, the SAGE III instrument design covers this large dynamic range, performing lunar occultations on a routine basis to augment the solar products. The standard lunar products include ozone and nitrogen trioxide. Routine observations began June 2017 and continue to the present. This has enabled observations of significant perturbations of the stratosphere induced by three different wildfire events (two of which were record setting), four volcanic eruptions and two changes of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) phase, as represented in the standard data products.

ozone↗
NASA NTRS2012

In-Space Propulsion Engine Architecture Based on Sublimation of Planetary Resources: From Exploration Robots to NEO Mitigation

This project, sponsored by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts examines how the systematic use of space resources such as frozen volatiles can create a new paradigm in surface power generation for deep space missions. The ubiquitous presence of ices of water, carbon dioxide and other compounds throughout the Solar System under conditions favorable for their sublimation will enable novel in-space propulsion and actuation concepts to become a reality and to address one of NASA's Grand Challenges of "All Access Mobility." Accessing such a resource in the far corners of our interplanetary neighborhood let us conceive exploration missions capable of refueling in the Jovian and Saturnian systems to achieve new goals or reach new destinations. The concept also has potential to apply in-situ propulsion to a comet or an asteroid to deflectits orbit slightly to avoid a future encounter with Earth.

Compounds↗
NASA NTRS2005

STS-114: Discovery Day 3/Mission Status Briefing

Paul Hill, STS-114 Lead Flight Director, and John Shannon, Flight Operations and Integrations Manager for the Space Shuttle Program were present. Paul gave a detailed description of the Orbiter's performance upon its arrival on the International Space Station, orbital rendezvous and docking was completed, performance was nominal by all measures, and crew is already inside the ISS. He also briefly mentioned the next day crew activities, robotics work and first space walk. John emphasized on ground technical engineering tasks, data gathering and inspection of data, imagery and damage assessment, assessing the performance of the external tank, engineering analysis, and the increase of understanding of the overall condition of the vehicle. Safety of the vehicle, battery lifetime, foam loss, tile damage, post launch analysis were some of the topics discussed with the News Media.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1987

Real-time graphic simulation for space telerobotics applications

Designing space-based telerobotic systems presents many problems unique to telerobotics and the space environment, but it also shares many common hardware and software design problems with Earth-based industrial robot applications. Such problems include manipulator design and placement, grapple-fixture design, and of course the development of effective and reliable control algorithms. Since first being applied to industrial robotics just a few years ago, interactive graphic simulation has proven to be a powerful tool for anticipating and solving problems in the design of Earth-based robotic systems and processes. Where similar problems are encountered in the design of space-based robotic mechanisms, the same graphic simulation tools may also be of assistance. The capabilities of PLACE, a commercially available interactive graphic system for the design and simulation of robotic systems and processes is described. A space-telerobotics application of the system is presented and discussed. Potential future enhancements are described.

Baumann, E. W.↗