View of the Canadarm during a Space Shuttle mission.

For the robotic arm on the International Space Station, see the related Canadarm2

The Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), or Canadarm (Canadarm 1), is a mechanical arm used on the Space Shuttle to maneuver a payload from the payload bay of the orbiter to its deployment position and then release it. The Mobile Servicing System (MSS better known by its primary component Canadarm2, is a Robotic system and associated equipment on the International Space Station An articulated robot is a robot with Rotary joints (eg a Legged robot) NASA 's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System ( STS) is the Spacecraft currently used by the United States In military aircraft or space exploration the payload is the carrying capacity of an aircraft or space ship including as Cargo, Munitions scientific instruments 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 Space Shuttle mission STS-2, launched November 13, 1981. NASA 's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System ( STS) is the Spacecraft currently used by the United States STS-2 was a Space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'', that launched on November 12, 1981. Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Since the destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-107, NASA has outfitted the SRMS with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, a boom containing instruments to inspect the exterior of the shuttle for damage to the thermal protection system. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated over Texas Space Shuttle Columbia ( NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first spaceworthy Space shuttle in NASA 's STS-107 was a Space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Columbia, launched January 16, 2003. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program The Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS is a 50-foot boom carried on board NASA 's Space Shuttles. The Space Shuttle thermal protection system (TPS is the barrier that protects the Space Shuttle Orbiter during the searing 1650 °C (3000 °F) heat of It is expected the SRMS will play this role in all future shuttle missions.

Specifications

The SRMS arm is 15. 2 metres (50 ft 3 in) long and 38 centimetres (15 inches) in diameter and has six degrees of freedom. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. A centimetre ( American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one hundredth In mechanics, degrees of freedom (DOF are the set of independent displacements and/or rotations that specify completely the displaced or deformed position and orientation It weighs 410 kg (905 pounds), and the total system weighs 450 kg (994 lb). In the Physical sciences weight is a Measurement of the gravitational Force acting on an object The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass 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

The SRMS on Atlantis hands the P3/P4 Truss segment to the Canadarm2 on the International Space Station during STS-115. Space Shuttle Atlantis ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104 is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of The Mobile Servicing System (MSS better known by its primary component Canadarm2, is a Robotic system and associated equipment on the International Space Station STS-115 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS flown by Space Shuttle '' Atlantis''.

The SRMS is capable of deploying or retrieving payloads weighing up to 29 tons (65,000 pounds) in space, though the arm motors are unable to lift the arm's own weight when on the ground. Mass is a fundamental concept in Physics, roughly corresponding to the Intuitive idea of how much Matter there is in an object Units of mass There are three similar units of Mass called the ton: Long ton (simply ton in countries such as the United 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 Advanced Space Vision System screen next to the controllers. The Advanced Space Vision System (also known as the Space Vision System or by its acronym SVS is a Computer vision system designed primarily for International Space Station

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

SPAR Aerospace Ltd. SPAR Aerospace, a Canadian aerospace company led the development of the Canadarm for the NASA Space shuttle program , a Canadian company, designed, developed, tested and built the SRMS. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page (SPAR was later indirectly acquired by Richmond, B.C. based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, after going through the hands of American company Orbital Sciences Corp. British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd ( is a Richmond based Canadian information services and products company employing over 3000 people throughout Canada and becoming a part of MD Robotics in Ontario, Canada. ) The main controls algorithms were subcontracted to Dynacon Inc. of Toronto. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario CAE Electronics Ltd. CAE Inc () (which once stood for Canadian Aviation Electronics but now has no official meaning is a leading provider of simulation technologies modelling technologies and integrated in Montreal provides electronic interfaces, servoamplifiers and power conditioners. Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec Dilworth, Secord, Meagher and Associates Ltd. in Toronto is responsible for the SRMS end effector. Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division designed, developed, tested and built the systems used to attach the SRMS to the payload bay of the orbiter. Rockwell International was the ultimate incarnation of a series of companies under the sphere of influence of Willard Rockwell, who had made his fortune after the invention and

In all, five arms (arm 201, 202, 301, 302, and 303) were built and delivered to NASA. Three arms are currently in operation, with arm 302 lost in the Challenger accident. ^[1]

Usage

The SRMS in action on the Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-116. Space Shuttle Discovery ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103 is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of STS-116 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS flown by Space Shuttle '' Discovery''.

The SRMS was first used on STS-2 in 1981, on board the Columbia, and has subsequently been used on over 50 shuttle missions. STS-2 was a Space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'', that launched on November 12, 1981. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Space Shuttle Columbia ( NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first spaceworthy Space shuttle in NASA 's SRMS arms were installed on the 4 other shuttles - it was first flown on board the Challenger during STS-7 in 1983, and then in 1984 on Discovery during STS-41-D, which was Discovery's first flight. Space Shuttle Challenger ( NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099 was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service STS-7 was a Space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', launched June 18, 1983. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Space Shuttle Discovery ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103 is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of STS-41-D was the first space shuttle mission for Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. It was used on Atlantis first during STS-61-B. Space Shuttle Atlantis ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104 is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of STS-61-B was the 23rd Space Shuttle mission using the Atlantis orbiter The SRMS onboard Challenger was lost during the Challenger disaster in 1986. Space Shuttle Challenger ( NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099 was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place on January 28 1986 when ''Challenger'', a Space Shuttle operated by NASA, broke apart Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) An SRMS was next used on Endeavour during STS-49, the vessel's first flight. Space Shuttle Endeavour ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105 is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of STS-49 was the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''.

Only Space Shuttle Pathfinder and Space Shuttle Enterprise do not have the SRMS, as they both are not fully functional orbiters and lack a payload bay. The Space Shuttle Orbiter Pathfinder (honorary Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-098 is a Space Shuttle simulator made of Steel and Wood The Space Shuttle Enterprise ( NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101 was the first Space Shuttle built for NASA.

Since the installation of the Canadarm2 on the International Space Station, 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. The Mobile Servicing System (MSS better known by its primary component Canadarm2, is a Robotic system and associated equipment on the International Space Station

Following the Columbia disaster, the SRMS has been used on every space shuttle flight to inspect the heat shield for damage that may have been caused during launch. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated over Texas It is likely that the arm will be a part of all future shuttle missions.

See also

• Canadarm2, a robotic arm that is part of the International Space Station's Mobile Servicing System
• European Robotic Arm, a second robotic arm to be installed on the ISS
• Space Shuttle program

References

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
• CBC Digital Archives - Canadarm - A Technology Star