The idea that the International Space Station could be used as a port-of-call for passing satellites that need fuel or repairs took one step closer to reality as NASA astronauts set up the robotic experiment in orbit today.

The Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) structure will ultimately be attached to the ISS' infrastructure and once up and running will show that remote-controlled robots can perform refueling tasks in orbit, using commands sent from controllers on Earth, NASA said. The experiment was set up during the only spacewalk planned for the current space shuttle Atlantis-ISS mission.

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The RRM system includes satellite fueling interfaces including a fluid transfer system as well as an interactive task board, test port panel, vision processing interfaces, tool and cap stowage area, and command telemetry electronics. Four robotic tools are mounted alongside the fueling interface: the Wire Cutter and Blanket Manipulation Tool, the Safety Cap Removal, the Multifunction, and the Nozzle tools.

According to NASA, the RRM works with help of Dextre, the two-armed robot developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to perform delicate assembly and maintenance tasks on the station's exterior. Dextre uses the robotic tools to manipulate Multi-Layer Insulation, remove caps, cut wires, hook up and seal to the fuel valve, and transfer fuel from one tank to another. Robotic task boards are also included that will let Dextre perform additional robotic servicing tasks as well as evaluate machine vision algorithms.

What Dextre and the experiment are doing though is an important demonstration of robotics. For instance, to fill up RRM's fuel tank with a simulated fuel, Dextre's robotic "hands" would retrieve the Nozzle Tool from RRM, securely connect the tool to the fuel valve on the RRM box, and transfer fluid (the simulated fuel) through the valve. While such activities are similar to grabbing a fuel nozzle at the gas station and filling up a car's gas tank, each RRM task requires a high level of robotic precision and demonstrates state-of-the-art refueling technology, tools and techniques, NASA stated.

RRM operations will be entirely remote controlled by flight controllers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and the CSA's control center.

NASA lists a number of applications for the RRM including:

Robotic refueling extends a satellite's lifespan, potentially offering satellite operators years of additional service and revenue, more value from the initial satellite investment, and significant savings in delayed replacement costs. Numerous satellites are in orbit today in that could benefit from such a service.

If applied in conjunction with a fuel depot, robotic refueling would eliminate the need for space explorers and satellites to carry up heavy amounts of fuel at launch, thus freeing up weight for mission-critical equipment and capabilities. Robotic refueling has the potential to allow human and robotic explorers to reach distant destinations more efficiently and effectively.

As an ISS experiment, RRM reduces the risk associated with performing robotic refueling tasks in-orbit and lays the foundation for a future robotic servicing mission to a free-flying satellite. It also advances space robotic capabilities. It is the first NASA technology demonstration to test and prove technology needed to perform robotic refueling on spacecraft not built to be refueled, and the first use of Dextre beyond robotic maintenance of the space station for technology research and development.

The RRM test is just part of NASA's overall goal of developing space gas stations. You may recall that the space agency in April said it was beginning to solicit proposals for what it calls an In-Space Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer Demonstration. Such a system will lay the ground work for humans to safely reach multiple destinations, including the Moon, asteroids, Lagrange points and Mars, NASA said.

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