Canadarm

The Remote Manipulator System (RMS), also known as Canadarm, is an electromechanical arm aboard the Space Shuttle, the take payloads to expose them from the cargo bay and can anchor it. The RMS was the second shuttle mission (STS -2) tested for the first time in 1981.

The arm is 15.33 meters in length, has a diameter of 38 inches and has six degrees of freedom. It is mounted on the port side in the cargo bay of the orbiter with its shoulder joint directly behind the cockpit. The human arm modeled, the Canadarm has an upper (upper arm) and forearm (lower arm ) and a hand ( end effector ). The upper arm has a length of 5.18 meters ( 6.37 meters with joint ), the forearm is 6.10 meters ( 7.06 with joint meter) long and the hand from the wrist to the tip measures 1.80 meters. The arms are made ​​of graphite - epoxy resin, which are provided to protect with a layer of Kevlar. The joints are made of aluminum. RMS weighs 410 kg -, the entire system has a weight of 450 kg.

Equipment

The Canadarm in space can be up to 29 tons of payload on or unload, although the motors of the arm in normal Earth gravity could not even move the arm itself. The RMS can capture satellites and suspend again after the repair. For outboard activities he can serve the astronauts as a mobile platform. In addition, he can be, thanks to a built-in camera, use to provide for inspections of the orbiter or payload.

Control

The RMS is operated from a team member from the control panel at the rear of the flight deck. A second member supports him with the operation of the camera. This allows the RMS operator both an overview through the windows on the flight deck of the shuttle as well as a detailed view of the TV monitors.

OBSS

After the Columbia disaster in the spring of 2003, the RMS was equipped with the Orbital Boom Sensor System ( OBSS ). The OBSS is a boom that is attached to the Canadarm. It has instruments to control the shuttle outside and the heat shield. NASA uses this system for all shuttle missions.

Development and production

Canadian companies have built the Canadarm: MDA Space Missions (formerly Spar Aerospace) was entrusted with the planning, production and testing. CAE Electronics of Montreal supplied the electronic interfaces, servo amplifier and the power supply. Dilworth, Secord, Meagher and Associates of Toronto contributed to the End Effector. The Department of Space Transportation Systems of Rockwell International developed and tested the system for the attachment of the RMS in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle.

Exhibition

After the completion of the U.S. Space Shuttle program of NASA, it was decided in the Canadarm Canada Aviation and Space Museum exhibit in Ottawa.