* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: CanadaArm 3 and Pegasos ODW

Blobrana · L

There were a series of problems and computer glitches that disrupted systems on the International Space Station (ISS) soon after it was installed in 2001.
Canadarm2 was launched aboard STS-100 in April 2001.

(The space station was fitted out with Rokviss, a new 2 joint arm by Expedition 10, in Jan. 25, 2005.)

The next generation Canadarm was a bigger and smarter version of the space shuttle's robotic arm.
It measures 17.6 meters long when fully extended and has seven motorized joints, and is capable of handling large payloads and assisting with docking the space shuttle.
The Space Station Remote Manipulator System, or SSRMS, is self-relocatable with a Latching End Effector, so it can be attached to complementary ports spread throughout the station's exterior surfaces.

The Expedition 10 crew installed a Universal Work Platform at the forward end of the Zvezda section, and mounted a German commercial experiment called Rokviss (Robotics Component Verification on ISS) on the platform.

The Rokviss consists of a small double-jointed manipulator arm, an illumination system and a power supply.

Date: Oct 10 09:52 2005

MacDonald, Detwiller & Associates is a Canadian company involved in US$ 1 Billion Robotic Crane for ISS (CanadaArm2 Project).

MDA Canada

This crane is buggy and the software should be patched to make it work.

From CNN:

"The cause of the delay -- a $1 billion, mobile crane attached to the station that has repeatedly experienced unexplained stiffness in one of its numerous joints during testing. The 58-foot (17-meter) robot arm, which shuttle astronauts installed in May, is designed to move like an inchworm across the modular complex, attaching itself to various power and computer ports on the outside. The robot arm has been plagued by technical woes during testing, including a persistent glitch with a backup computer command sequence that controls its shoulder joint. Voss and cosmonaut Yury Usachev had prepared for the possibility of going outside the space station to replace the control box for the joint. But on Friday, ground controllers said they had pieced together a software patch that should allow CanadaArm2 to work without the problem joint, making the spacewalk unnecessary."

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Mr Bill Buck from Genesi had announced that the new CanadaArm3 project will use Pegasos ODW.
Does this new robotic crane also buggy?