| Revision as of 19:00, 20 February 2007 edit72.139.115.174 (talk) merged material from RMS. This should be the proper article to talk about the SRMS (Canadarm). There is no such thing as RMS.← Previous edit | Revision as of 03:35, 27 February 2007 edit undo24.81.69.38 (talk) ←Replaced page with 'THIS ARM IS TOTALLY AWESOME'Next edit → | ||
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| The '''Shuttle Remote Manipulator System''' ('''SRMS''') or '''Canadarm''' (Canadarm 1) on the ], is a mechanical arm that maneuvers a payload from the payload bay of the space shuttle orbiter to its deployment position and then releases it. It can also grapple a free-flying payload, maneuver it to the payload bay of the orbiter and berth it in the orbiter. It was first used on the second ] mission ], launched ], ]. Since the ] of ] during ], ] has outfitted the SRMS with the ] - a boom containing instruments to inspect the exterior of the shuttle for damage to the ]. It is expected the SRMS will play this role in all future shuttle missions. | |||
| ==Specifications== | |||
| The SRMS arm is 15.2 ]s (50 ] 3 ]) long and 38 ]s (15 inches) in diameter and has six ]. It ] 410 ] (905 ]s), and the total system weighs 450 kg (994 lb). The SRMS has six joints that correspond roughly to the joints of the human arm, with shoulder yaw and pitch joints; an elbow pitch joint; and wrist pitch, yaw, and roll joints. The end effector is the unit at the end of the wrist that actually grabs, or grapples, the payload. The two lightweight boom segments are called the upper and lower arms. The upper boom connects the shoulder and elbow joints, and the lower boom connects the elbow and wrist joints. The SRMS arm attaches to the orbiter payload bay longeron at the shoulder manipulator positioning mechanism. Power and data connections are located at the shoulder MPM. | |||
| ==Capabilities== | |||
| ] hands the P3/P4 Truss segment to the ] on the ] during ].]] | |||
| The SRMS is capable of deploying or retrieving payloads ] up to 29 ]s (65,000 pounds) in space, though the arm motors are unable to lift the arm's own weight when on the ground. The SRMS can also retrieve, repair and deploy satellites; provide a mobile extension ladder for extravehicular activity crew members for work stations or foot restraints; and be used as an inspection aid to allow the flight crew members to view the orbiter's or payload's surfaces through a television camera on the SRMS. | |||
| The basic SRMS configuration consists of a manipulator arm; an SRMS display and control panel, including rotational and translational hand controllers at the orbiter aft flight deck flight crew station; and a manipulator controller interface unit that interfaces with the orbiter computer. Most of the time the arm operators see what they are doing by looking at the ] screen next to the controllers. | |||
| One flight crew member operates the SRMS from the aft flight deck control station, and a second flight crew member usually assists with television camera operations. This allows the SRMS operator to view SRMS operations through the aft flight deck payload and overhead windows and through the closed-circuit television monitors at the aft flight deck station. | |||
| ==Development== | |||
| ] Ltd., a ] company, designed, developed, tested and built the SRMS. (SPAR was later indirectly acquired by Richmond, ] based ], after going through the hands of American company Orbital Sciences Corp. and becoming a part of MD Robotics in Ontario, Canada.) The main controls algorithms were subcontracted to ] Inc. of ]. ] Ltd. in ] provides electronic interfaces, servoamplifiers and power conditioners. ] Ltd. in Toronto is responsible for the SRMS end effector. ]'s Space Transportation Systems Division designed, developed, tested and built the systems used to attach the SRMS to the payload bay of the orbiter. | |||
| ==Usage== | |||
| ] during ].]] | |||
| Since its first usage during ] in ] on ], the SRMS has been used on over 50 shuttle missions. It was first flown on ] during ] in ]. Then in ] it was first used aboard ] during ]. The SRMS onboard ] was lost during the ] in ]. It was used on ] first during ], and on ] during ] (her first flight). | |||
| Since the installation of the ] on the ], the two arms have been used to hand over segments of the station for assembly from the SRMS to the Canadarm2; the use of both elements in tandem has earned the nickname of 'Canadian Handshake' in the media. | |||
| Following the ], the SRMS has been used on every space shuttle flight to inspect the heat shield for damage that may have been caused during launch. It is likely that the arm will be a part of all future shuttle missions. | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *], a robotic arm that is part of the ]'s ] | |||
| *], a second robotic arm to be installed on the ISS | |||
| *] | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/sts-caws.html#sts-deploy | |||
| * http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/exploration/canadarm/default.asp | |||
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Revision as of 03:35, 27 February 2007
THIS ARM IS TOTALLY AWESOME