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First Robotic Satellite Servicer Launched

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Re: First Robotic Satellite Servicer Launched

#51

Post by GlenTheMachine »

fragmede wrote: post #47
GlenTheMachine wrote: post #20

I'm the lead roboticist. Within bounds, I can answer questions.

what's it like working with robot arms with that kind of latency? Any AI stuff (ML models etc) on board?

The RPO and docking are autonomous specifically because it's hard to deal with the latency.

Note that the algorithm stack for almost any spacecraft cannot rely on modern compute. Single-core sub-1 GHz processors are the standard. Very few GPUs have ever been in space, in any capacity, and none that I know of in a mission-critical role.

Re: First Robotic Satellite Servicer Launched

#52

Post by ceejayoz »

aqfamnzc wrote: post #32
sidewndr46 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sure seems like this could just as easily be used to perform on-orbit disassembly of a hostile nation's satellite?

I would think there are much less expensive and more rapid methods of "on-orbit disassembly" than a system like this?

None of them can drop nice deniable limpet mines that go off much later, though.

Re: First Robotic Satellite Servicer Launched

#53

Post by ben_w »

ceejayoz wrote: post #52
aqfamnzc wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would think there are much less expensive and more rapid methods of "on-orbit disassembly" than a system like this?

None of them can drop nice deniable limpet mines that go off much later, though.

If I was going to attempt that, instead of a complex repair bot, I'd be asking if the combination of a Raspberry Pi Pico, minimal sensors/comms, small ion drive, and PV can be made smaller than whatever the tracking radar's wavelength is. Launch thousands in one go in a big boring-seeming box, to a completely different orbit, release the pies and let orbital velocity do the damage on impact.

(Actually hitting is of course hard, even under power, but on the other hand if you miss you get to re-use the same impactor for another attempt perhaps every 47 minutes depending on the orbit).

Re: First Robotic Satellite Servicer Launched

#54

Post by notahacker »

GlenTheMachine wrote: post #36
notahacker wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a paper somewhere describing the intended robotic operations and robotic toolkit it's equipped with (beyond the MEPs, though they're pretty interesting too)? (context: some of my colleagues and consortium partners are working on European projects involving end effector toolkits for orbital [dis]assembly and slot-based electric propulsion ORUs respectively. Would love to chat but suspect you're pretty busy!)…

Thanks! There isn't a paper yet, but I'm working on one; I hope it will be presented at the upcoming iSAIRAS/iSpaRo conference in Cologne.

Cool. Is there an IAC paper in the works as well?

Re: First Robotic Satellite Servicer Launched

#55

Post by notahacker »

GlenTheMachine wrote: post #48
lenerdenator wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How could this be applied to grab old satellites (of which there are, to put in in technical terms, "too damn many") out of orbit and bring them back to Earth for processing? Seems like some of the technology could be used to recycle space junk.

It's almost impossibly hard to return things to earth from GEO. Robert Heinlein famously wrote that "a circular orbit is halfway to anywhere", which means that the most energetically difficult part of a mission to the Andromeda Galaxy is getting out of earth's gravity well. To get back into earth's gravity well from a circular orbit requires similar amounts of fuel. Getting things back to earth from low earth orbit i…

> So, nobody will be recycling space debris that lives at GEO any time soon, unless someone figures out how to do it in situ.

Actually have a funded project looking at this, albeit only parts of the chain and only to TRL4. The trick is being able to turn enough of the orbital mass into solid propellant, which at least in theory makes manoeuvring around GEO graveyards collecting stuff to take to your orbital recycling plant net positive. After that it's only building a complex processing chain for raw materials under space systems engineering constraints and finding some end customers to worry about ;)

Want a rotary multitool and laser cutting end-effectors (with or without the Sener interface) for the next mission?

Re: First Robotic Satellite Servicer Launched

#56

Post by eichin »

eichin wrote: post #14
ck2 wrote: post #13

wait that reminds me, what happened with the SWIFT rescue attempt recently to lift it into a higher orbit? * https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/swift-boost-mission/ * https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift/

They should be close to the end of the checkout stage, then it'll take 4 weeks to get in the right orbit and another 2 weeks of inspection ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_boost_mission#Boost_oper... has an easier all-in-one-place timeline than the NASA pages.)

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7487913... via https://bsky.app/profile/jfoust.bsky.social/post/3mrqa6o24as... says that they're having attitude control problems including "Currently, the LINK spacecraft has two of three reaction wheels non-functional and partial RCS functionality" but they have already made some attempts to use the thrusters to stabilize it and they seem to be working. The note comes across as "busy but hopeful" (and pleasantly but unusually transparent.)
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