The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of NASA's Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), give an overview of the operations on the International Space Station (ISS) and discuss how this technology is applicable to future in-space servicing. Robotic refueling is challenging. Before a satellite leaves the ground, its technicians fill its fuel tank through a valve that is then triple-sealed and covered with a protective blanket-designed never to be accessed again. RRM paves the way for a future robotic servicing mission by demonstrating that a remote-controlled robot can overcome these obstacles to service and refuel a satellite on orbit. RRM will also prove other robotic servicing tasks during its two years of operations. Utilizing ISS for this mission provides a unique location to demonstrate this hardware in the harsh environment of space and show that remote-controlled robots can perform servicing and refueling tasks in orbit via ground commanding.
展开▼
