Test of Space Repair Robot Continues

Posted 8 Apr 2007 at 19:41 UTC by steve

Roland Piquepaille writes, "The launch of the Orbital Express mission, with its two satellites ASTRO and NextSat, the first one servicing the other, was widely covered a month ago. But what is happening in space now? In Robotic satellite servicer rehearsal underway in orbit, Spaceflight Now reports about the progress done. A week ago, the two satellites were able to link to each other to operate the first transfer of hydrazine fuel from ASTRO's propellant tanks into NextSat. This weekend, ASTRO's ten-foot-long robotic arm is going to be used to move objects to NextSat. But what does it mean for international satellite operators when they need help with their space birds? Will they use a system designed for U.S.'s DARPA? We'll see." For more details see Roland's blog or our previous story on the ASTRO and NextSat autonomous repair robots.