Robotic assembly of truss structures for space systems and future research plans

Author

Doggett, William

Author_Institution

NASA Langley Res. Center, Hampton, VA, USA

Volume

7

fYear

2002

fDate

2002

Firstpage

617078

Abstract

Many initiatives under study by both the space science and Earth science communities require large space systems, i.e. with apertures >15 m or dimensions >20 m. This paper reviews the effort in NASA Langley Research Center´s Automated Structural Assembly Laboratory which laid the foundations for robotic construction of these systems. In the Automated Structural Assembly Laboratory reliable autonomous assembly and disassembly of an 8 m planar structure composed of 102 truss elements covered by 12 panels was demonstrated. The paper reviews the hardware and software design philosophy which led to reliable operation during weeks of near continuous testing. Special attention is given to highlight the features enhancing assembly reliability.

Keywords

aerospace robotics; aerospace testing; assembling; large-scale systems; space research; 15 m; 20 m; 8 m; Automated Structural Assembly Laboratory; NASA Langley Research Center; assembly reliability; design philosophy; large space systems; near continuous testing; robotic assembly; truss structures; Apertures; Assembly systems; Geoscience; Hardware; Laboratories; NASA; Orbital robotics; Robotic assembly; Robotics and automation; Software design;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Aerospace Conference Proceedings, 2002. IEEE

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7231-X

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/AERO.2002.1035335

Filename

1035335