Space Robotics

Chapter -I

INTRODUCTION
Robot is a system with a mechanical body, using computer as its brain. Integrating the sensors and actuators built into the mechanical body, the motions are realised with the computer software to execute the desired task. Robots are more flexible in terms of ability to perform new tasks or to carry out complex sequence of motion than other categories of automated manufacturing equipment. Today there is lot of interest in this field and a separate branch of technology robotics has emerged. It is concerned with all problems of robot design, de elopment and applications. The technology to substitute or subsidise the manned acti ities in space is called space robotics. !arious applications of space robots are the inspection of a defecti e satellite, its repair, or the construction of a space station and supply goods to this station and its retrie al etc. "ith the o er lap of knowledge of kinematics, dynamics and control and progress in fundamental technologies it is about to become possible to design and de elop the ad anced robotics systems. #nd this will throw open the doors to explore and experience the uni erse and bring countless changes for the better in the ways we li e.

1.1

AREAS OF APPLICATION
The space robot applications can be classified into the following

four categories $ ) + In%orbit positioning and assembly& 'or deployment of satellite and for assembly of modules to satellite(space station. *peration& 'or conducting experiments in space lab. ,aintenance& 'or remo al and replacement of faulty modules(packages.

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Resupply& 'or supply of equipment, materials for experimentation in space lab and for the resupply of fuel. The following examples gi e specific applications under the abo e categories Scientific experimentation .onduct experimentation in space labs that may include ,etallurgical experiments which may be ha/ardous. #stronomical obser ations. 0iological experiments.

A!!i!t cre" in !pace !tation a!!em#$% #ssist in deployment and assembly out side the station. #ssist crew inside the space station& Routine crew functions inside the space station and maintaining life support system. Space !er&icin' f(nction! Refueling. Replacement of faulty modules. #ssist 1ammed mechanism say a solar panel, antenna etc.

Space craft enhancement! Replace payloads by an upgraded module. #ttach extra modules in space.

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Space t(' 2rab a satellite and effect orbital transfer. 3fficient transfer of satellites from low earth orbit to geostationary orbit.

1.) SPACE S*UTTLE TILE RE+ATERPROOFIN, RO-OT

TESSELLATOR

Tessellator Tessellator is a mobile manipulator system to ser ice the space shuttle.The method of rewaterproofing for space shuttle orbiters in ol es repetiti ely in1ecting the extremely ha/ardous dimethyloxysilane 45,367 into approximately $8999 bottom tile after each space flight. The field robotic center at .arneige ,ellon :ni ersity has de eloped a mobile manipulating robot, Tessellator for autonomous tile rewaterproofing. Its automatic process yields tremendous benefit through increased producti ity and safety.

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In this pro1ect, a )5% ehicle workspace co ering and

ehicle

routing problem has been formulated as the Tra elling "orkstation ;roblem 4T";7. In the T";, a workstation is defined as a ehicle which occupies or ser es a certain area and it can tra el< a workspace is referred to as a )5 actuation en elop of manipulator systems or sensory systems which are carried on the workstation< a work area refers to a whole )5 working /one for a workstation. The ob1ecti e of the T"; is $ To determine the minimum number of workspaces and their layout, in which, we should minimi/e the o erlapping among the workspaces and a oid conflict with obstacles. ) To determine the optimal route of the workstation mo ement, in which the workstation tra els o er all workspaces within a lowest cost 4i.e. routing time7. The constraints of the problem are $7 )7 +7 The workstation should ser e or co er all workareas. The patterns or dimensions of each workspace are the same and There some geographical obstacles or restricted areas. In the study, heuristic solutions for the T";, and a case study of Tessellator has been conducted. It is concluded that the co ering strategies, e.g. decomposition and other layout strategies yield satisfactory solution for workspace co ering, and the cost%sa ing heuristics can near%optimally sol e the routing problem. The following figure shows a sample solution of T"; for Tessellator.

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;ath of tessellator on )5 workspace of space shuttle

1.. RO-OTS TO REFUEL SATELLITES

The :6 department of defense is de eloping an orbital%refueling robot that could expand the life span of #merican spy satellites many times o er, new scientists reported. The robotic refueler called an #utonomous 6pace Transporter and Robotic *rbiter 4#6TR*7 could shuttle between orbiting fuel dumps and satellites according to the 5efense #d ance Research ;ro1ects #gency. Therefore, life of a satellite would no longer be limited to the amount of fuel with which it is launched. 6py satellites carry a small amount of fuel, called hydra/ine, which enable them to change position to scan different parts of the globe or to go into a higher orbit. 6uch
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maneu ering makes a satellites position difficult for an enemy to predict. 0ut, under the current system, when the fuel runs out, the satellite gradually falls out of orbit and goes crashing to the earth. In the future the refueler could also carry out repair works on faulty satellites, pro ided the ha e modular electronic systems that can be fixed by slot in replacements.

Chapter II

SPACE RO-OT/C*ALLEN,ES IN DESI,N AND TESTIN,

Robots de eloped for space applications will be significantly different from their counter part in ground. 6pace robots ha e to satisfy unique requirements to operate in /ero g conditions 4lack of gra ity7, in acuum and in high thermal gradients, and far away from earth. The phenomenon of /ero gra ity effects physical action and mechanism performance. The acuum and thermal conditions of space influence material and sensor performance. The degree of remoteness of the operator may ary from a few meters to millions of kilometers. The principle effect of distance is the time delay in command communication and its repercussions on the action of the arms. The details are discussed below ).1 0ERO 1'2 EFFECT ON DESI,N The gra ity free en ironment in which the space robot operates possesses both ad antages and disad antages. The mass to be handled by the manipulator arm is not a constraint in the /ero g en ironment. =ence, the arm and the 1oints of the space robot need not withstand the forces and the moment loads due to gra ity. This will result in an arm which will be light in mass. The design of the manipulator arm will be stiffness based and
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the 1oint actuators will be selected based on dynamic torque 4i.e.< based on the acceleration of the arm7. The main disad antage of this type of en ironment is the lack of inertial frame. #ny motion of the manipulator arm will induce reaction forces and moment at the base which inturn will disturb the position and the altitude. The problem of dynamics, control and motion planning for the space robot is considering the dynamic interactions between the robot and the base 4space shuttle, space station and satellite7. 5ue to the dynamic interaction, the motion of the space robot can alter the base tra1ectory and the robot end effector can miss the desired target due to the motion of the base. The mutual dependence se erely affects the performance of both the robot and the base, especially, when the mass and moment of inertia of the robot and the payload are not negligible in comparison to the base. ,oreo er, inefficiency in planning and control can considerably risk the success of space missions. The components in space do not stay in position. They freely float and are a problem to be picked up. =ence, the components will ha e to be properly secured. #lso the 1oints in space do not sag as on earth. :nlike on earth the position of the arm can be within the band of the backlash at each 1oint.

).) 3ACUU4 EFFECT AND T*ER4AL EFFECT

The acuum in space can create heat transfer problems and mass loss of the material through e aporation or sublimation. This is to be taken care by proper selection of materials, lubricants etc., so as to meet the total mass loss 4T,?7 of @$A and collected olatile condensable matter 4.!.,7 of @9.$A. The use of con entional lubricants in bearings is not possible in this en ironment. The preferred lubricants are dry lubricants like bonded(sputtered(ion plated molybdenum disulphide, lead, gold etc. .old welding of molecularly similar metal in contact with each other is a possibility, which is to be a oided by proper selection of materials and dry
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lubricants. 6ome of the subsystem that cannot be exposed to acuum will need hermetical sealing. The thermal cycles and large thermal ariations will ha e to be taken care in design of robot elements. ?ow temperature can lead to embrittlement of the material, weaken adhesi e bonding and increase friction in bearings. ?arge thermal gradients can lead to distortion in structural elements and 1amming of the mechanism. This calls for the proper selection of the materials whose properties are acceptable in the abo e temperature ranges and the selection of suitable protecti e coatings and insulation to ensure that the temperature of the system is within allowable limits.

).. OT*ER FACTORS

*ne of the prime requirements of space systems is lightweight and compactness. The structural material to be used must ha e high specific strength and high specific stiffness, to ensure compactness, minimum mass and high stiffness. The other critical en ironment to which the space robot will be sub1ected to are the dynamic loads during launch. These dynamic loads are composed of sinusoidal ibrations, random ibrations, acoustic noise and separation shock spectra. The electrical and electronic subsystems will ha e to be space qualified to take care of the abo e en ironmental conditions during launch and in orbit. The components must be protected against radiation to ensure proper performance throughout its life in orbit. The space robots will ha e to possess a ery high degree of

reliability and this is to be achie ed right from the design phase of the system. # failure mode effect and critical analysis 4',3.#7 is to be carried
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out to identify the different failure modes effects and these should be addressed in the design by .hoosing pro en(reliable designs. =a ing good design margins. =a e design with redundancy.

).5 SPACE 4ODULAR 4ANIPULATORS

The unique thermal, acuum and gra itational conditions of space dri e the robot design process towards solutions that are much different from the typical laboratory robot. D6.Es #FR 5i ision is at the forefront of this design effort with the prototypes being built for the 6pace ,odular ,anipulators 46,,7 pro1ect. The first 6,, 1oint prototype has completed its thermal%mechanical%electrical design phase, is now under construction in the D6. shops, and is scheduled for thermal% ac chamber tests in 'GH-. 'GH+ was the 6,, pro1ectEs first year, initiating the effort with a ,ITR3 .orporation re iew of the existing space manipulator design efforts 4R,6 and 'T67 and interaction with ongoing de elopment teams 4R#I23R, D3,, 6;5,, 6T#R and 6#T7. 0elow this system le el, custom component endors for motors, amplifiers, sensors and cables were in estigated to capture the state%of%the%art in space robot design. 'our main design dri ers were identified as critical to the de elopment process& $. ). +. -. 3xtreme Thermal .onditions< =igh Reliability Requirements< 5ynamic ;erformance< and ,odular 5esign.

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"hile these design issues are strongly coupled, most robot design teams ha e handled them independently, resulting in an iterati e process as each solution impacts the other problems. The 6,, design team has sought a system le el approach that will be demonstrated as prototypes, which will be tested in the D6. thermal% acuum facilities.

The thermal% acuum conditions of space are the most dramatic difference between typical laboratory robot and space manipulator design requirements. ,anufacturing robots operate in climate controlled, JK *4L,%7)M factory en ironments, where space manipulators must be designed for JK*4L,7 B8M temperature ariations with $899 "(m) of solar flux. 5espite these en ironmental extremes, the technology to model and control robot precision o er a wide temperature range can be applied to terrestrial robotic operations where the extreme precision requirements demand total thermal control, such as in semiconductor manufacturing and medical robot applications. Thermal conditions impact reliability by cycling materials and components, adding to the dynamic loading that causes typical robot fatigue and inaccuracy. ,ITR3 built a customised thermal analysis model, a failure analysis model using '3#T, and applied the fault tolerance research funded by D6. at the :ni ersity of Texas. The strategy is to layer low le el redundancy in the 1oint modules with a high le el, redundant kinematic system design, where minor 1oint failures can be masked and serious failures result in reconfigured arm operation. In this approach, all four design dri ers were addressed in the selection of the appropriate le el of modular design as a )%5*' 1oint module.

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The ma1or technical accomplishments for the 'GH+ 6,, pro1ect are& $ ) + .onceptual and detailed design of first 1oint prototype< 5etailed design and fabrication of thermal% acuum test facility< .ustom design of thermal% ac rated motors, bearings, sensors and cables< and ;ublished two technical papers 4R. #mbrose F R. 0erka7 on robot thermal design.

Chapter-III

S6STE4 3ERIFICATION AND TESTIN,

The reliability is to be demonstrated by a number of tests en eloping all the en ironmental conditions 4thermal and acuum7 that the system will be sub1ected to. !erification of functions and tests will be conducted on subsystems, subassemblies and final qualification and acceptance tests will be done on complete system. The most difficult and the nearly impossible simulation during testing will be /ero g simulation. The commonly used simulations for /ero g are $ F$at f$oor te!t faci$it% It simulates /ero g en ironments in the

hori/ontal plane. In this system flat floor concept is based on air bearing sliding o er a large slab of polished granite. ) +ater immer!ion Reduced gra ity is simulated by totally submerging the robot under water and testing. This system pro ides multi degree of freedom for testing. =owe er, the model has to be water%resistant and ha e an o erall specific gra ity of one. This method is used by astronauts for extra ehicular acti ities with robot.
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Compen!ation !%!tem 2ra itational force is compensated by a passi e and ertical counter system and acti ely controlled hori/ontal system. The ertical system comprises the counter mechanism and a series of pulleys and cables that pro ide a constant upward force to balance the weight of the robot. =owe er, the counter mechanism increases the inertia and the friction of 1oints of rotating mechanism.

..1 PERFOR4ANCE

ASSESS4ENT

AND

CALI-RATION

STRATE,IES FOR SPACE RO-OTS

;redictable safe and cost efficient operation of a robotic de ice for space applications can best be achie ed by programming it offline during the preparation for the mission. .omputer aided design techniques are used to assure that the mo ement of the robot are predictable. # software model of the robot and its work cell is made and this must be compatible with the model of the en ironment in which the robot must perform. .ost efficiency requirements dictate that a robot be calibrated, after which its performance must be checked against specified requirements. ;roper use of miniaturi/ed sensing technology is needed to produce a robot of minimum si/e, power requirement and consumption and mass. This often requires minimi/ing the number and the type of sensors needed, and maximi/ing the information 4such as position, acceleration7 which is gained from each sensor. The study of methods of assessing the performance of a robot, choosing its sensors and performing calibration and test, 36# passed a
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contract with industry. Results of this work are applicable to any robot whose kinematics chain needs accurate geometrical modeling. ..1.1 RO-OT PERFOR4ANCE ASSESS4ENT The ob1ecti es of robot performance assessment are To identify the main source of error which perturb the accuracy of the arm. To decide if the arm or the work cell must be calibrated. To compare the expected impro ement in accuracy in calibration. The performance of the robot is assessed by making mathematical model of the characteristics of the error source in each of its sub system such as the 1oint, the robot link or its gripper. 'rom these the effects of errors on the positioning accuracy of end effector 4the functioning tip of the robot arm7 can be e aluated. 3rror sources are identified by a bottom up analysis, which tale account of the capabilities of state of the art production technology. 'or each robot subsystem error sources are identified and are sorted into three categories. 6ystematic error which do not ary with time, such as parallelism, concentricity and link length. ;seudo systematic error, which are time ariant yet predictable such as temperature induced effects. Random errors, which ary with time and cannot be, predicted such as encoded noise.

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*nce the error source ha e been classified and its magnitude defined, arious statistical methods may be used to e aluate its effects when they work in combination. 6imply adding all the errors, take no account of their statistical nature and gi es an estimate which is safe but unduly pessimistic< misapplication of statistics can produce an estimate, which is too optimistic. #ccuracy of some painting mechanism is frequently estimated by separately eliminating the root mean square alue of each of the three error types identified abo e and adding them. In the case of #,T6 pro1ect, all error sources were considered as statistical ariables and a single root mean square error at the end effector was of interest. The bottom up approach used to establish the contribution of each power source error source was alidated taking the case of manipulator for which a worst case accuracy of ).Bmm was predicted. This was ery close to its a erage accuracy of )mm. ..1.) RO-OT CALI-RATION If the performance prediction has shown that calibration is needed to compensate for errors, a proper calibration approach is required. Ideally, all calibration must be done on ground. In orbit calibration procedures should be limited to crosschecking the page or pressure gradient. To keep the flight hardware simple, the in orbit calibration should be achie ed using sensors already a ailable in the robot. .alibration is performed in fi e steps& alidity of model de eloped on ground and if necessary correcting for errors such as microslip

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,odeling, in which a parametric description of the robot is de eloped,

introducing geometric parameters such as link length and non geometric parameters such as control parameters.

,easurement, in which a set of robot poses 4position and orientation7 and

encoder data are measured using real robot to pro ide inputs to the identification test step.

Identification, which uses the parametric model and the measured data to
determine the optimal set of error parameters.

,odel implementation, which may be done either by updating the root

controller data or by correcting the robot pose with expected standard de iation of the error.

!erification, that the impro ement in the positioning accuracy of the

robot in all three axes ha e been achie ed. # method for calibrating each axes independently has been successfully de eloped in the frame of the contract. This method uses independent measurements of motions along each of the three axes. #d antage of this approach compared to others such as those requiring all robot 1oints mo e simultaneously is that it subdi ides the general problem of robot calibration into a set of problems of lower complexity, thus achie ing good stability and numerical precession. The calibration software is parametric and is suitable for calibrating any open robot kinematics chain. ..1.. PERFOR4ANCE E3ALUATION #s part of a erification procedure, specific performance tests were carried out on a robot by Mrypton under contract to 36#. The first was an accuracy test in which the robot had to adapt a specified pose and aim at a
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point, key characteristics for predictable offline programming. The second test e aluated the repeatability with which the robot could reach a pose it had been taught to adopt. This is essential for performing repetiti e and routine tasks. 'inally, the multidirectional pose accuracy was tested to establish the effect of random errors and to establish the limits of calibration procedure. The performance of the robot was measured before and after calibration.

;rocedures for calibrating robots on ground and in orbit ha e been de eloped, and the performance of the robotic de ices has been successfully tested. The robot calibration procedure pro ed to work well resulting in an impro ement in performance by a factor of ten in some cases. The calibration software is ersatile and it can be used to calibrate and e aluate most kinematics chains ranging from a simple two axes antenna gimbals mechanism to a ten axes manipulator. These software procedures are now used by Mrypton for applications in most motor industry and elsewhere.

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Chapter-I3

STRUCTURE OF SPACE RO-OTS

5.1 DESCRIPTION OF STRUCTURE OF SPACE RO-OT
The proposed robot is of articulated type with > degrees of freedom 45*'7. The reason for > 5*' system rather than one with lesser number of 5*' is that it is not possible to free/e all the information about possible operations of the payload(racks in +5 space to exclude some 5*' of the robot. =ence, a ersatile robot is preferred, as this will not impose any constraints on the design of the laboratory payload(racks and pro ide flexibility in the operation of the robot. # system with more than six 5*' can be pro ided redundancies and can be used to o ercome obstacles. =owe er, the complexities in analysis and control for this configuration become multifold. The robot consists of two arms i.e. an upper arm and a lower arm. The upper arm is fixed to the base and has rotational 5*' about pitch and
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yaw axis. The lower arm is connected to the upper arm by a rotary 1oint about the pitch axis. These + 5*' enable positioning of the end effector at any required point in the work space. # three%roll wrist mechanism at the end of the lower arm is used to orient the end effector about any axis. #n end effector connected to the wrist performs the required functions of the hand. ,otors through a dri e circuit dri e the 1oint of the arm and wrist. #ngular encoders at each 1oint control the motion about each axis. The end effector is dri en by a motor and a pressure sensor(strain gauges on the fingers are used to control the grasping force on the 1ob.

5.) DISCRIPTION OF SU-S6STE4S

The main subsystems in the de elopment of the manipulator arm are

Doints #rm "rist 2ripper

5.).1 7OINTS # 1oint permits relati e motion between two links of a robot. Two types of 1oints are $ ) Ro$$ 8oint 9 rotational axis is identical with the axis of the fully extended arm. Pitch 8oint N rotational axis is perpendicular to the axis of the extended arm and hence rotation angle is limited.
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The main requirements for the 1oints are to ha e near /ero backlash, high stiffness and low friction. In iew of the limitations on the olume to be occupied by the arm within the workspace, the 1oints are to be highly compact and hence they are integrated to the arm structure. To ensure a high stiffness of the 1oint the actuator, reduction gear unit and angular encoders are integrated into the 1oint. 3ach 1oint consists of

;ancake type 5. torque motors 4rare earth magnet type7 which ha e

ad antage o er other types of motors with respect to si/e, weight, response time and high torque to inertia ratio.

=armonic gear dri e used for torque amplification(speed reduction.

These gear dri es ha e near /ero backlash, can obtain high gear ratios in one stage only and ha e high efficiency.

3lectromagnetically actuated friction brakes, which pre ent

unintentional mo ements to the arms. This is specifically required when the gear dri e is not self%locking. In space en ironment, where the gra ity loads are absent 4/ero g en ironment7 brakes will help to impro e the stability of the 1oint actuator control system. i.e. the brake can be applied as soon as the 1oint elocity is less than the threshold alue.

3lectro optical angular encoders at each axis to sense the position of

the end of the arm. 6pace qualified lubricants like molybdenum disulphide 4bonded film(sputtered7, lead, gold etc. will be used for the gear dri es and for the ball bearings. 5.).) RO-OT AR4S
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The simplest arm is the pick and place type. These may be used to assemble parts or fit them into clamp or fixture. This is possible due to high accuracy attainable in robot arm. It is possible to hold the part securely after picking up and in such a way that the position and the orientation remains accurately known with respect to the arm. Robot arms can manipulate ob1ects ha ing complicated shapes and fragile in nature. 5.).. +RIST Robot arm comprises of grippers and wrist. "rist is attached to the robot arm and has three 5*' 4pitch, yaw, and roll7. "rist possesses the ability to deform in response to the forces and the torques and return to equilibrium position after the deflecting forces are remo ed. 5.).5 ,RIPPER 2ripper is attached to the wrist of the manipulator to accomplish the desired task. Its design depends on the shape and si/e of the part to be held.

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Chapter-3

OPERATION
:.1 SPACE S*UTTLE RO-OT AR4 ;S*UTTLE RE4OTE

4ANIPULATOR S6STE4<
:.1.1 USE OF S*UTTLE RO-OT AR4 The 6huttleEs robot arm is used for arious purposes. 6atellite deployment and retrie al

.onstruction of International 6pace 6tation Transport an 3!# crew member at the end of the arm and pro ide a
scaffold to him or her. 4#n 3!# crew member mo es inside the cargo bay in co%operation with the support crew inside the 6huttle.7

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6ur ey the outside of the 6pace 6huttle with a T! camera attached to the
elbow or the wrist of the robot arm.

6huttle robot arm obser ed from the deck :.1.) RO-OT AR4 OPERATION 4ODE 6R,6 is operated inside the 6pace 6huttle cabin. The operation is performed from the aft flight deck 4#'57, right behind the cockpit< either through the window or by watching two T! monitors. To control the 6R,6, the operator uses the translational hand controller 4T=.7 with his or her left hand and manipulates the rotational hand controller 4R=.7 with his or her right hand.

T=.

R=.

:.1.. *O+ SPACE S*UTTLE RO-OT AR4 ,RASPS O-7ECT=

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=ow does the 6pace 6huttle robot arm grasp ob1ectsO ,any people might think of human hand or magic hand, but its mechanism is as follows. #t the end of the robot arm is a cylinder called the end effector. Inside this cylinder equipped three wires that are used to grasp ob1ects. The ob1ect to be grasped needs to ha e a stick%shaped pro1ection called a grapple fixture. The three wires in the cylinder fix this grapple fixture at the centre of the cylinder. =owe er, a sight is needed to acquire the grapple fixture while manipulating a robot arm as long as -8 feet. The grapple fixture has a target mark, and a rod is mounted ertically on this mark. The robot arm operator monitors the T! image of the mark and the rod, and operates the robot arm to approach the target while keeping the rod standing upright to the robot arm. If the angular balance between the rod and the robot arm is lost, that can immediately be detected through the T! image.

3nd effector and grapple fixture

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Robot arms payload acquiring sequence :.) FREE FL6IN, SPACE RO-OTS The figure below shows an example of a free flying space robot. It is called 3T6 !II 4engineering test satellite !II7. It was designed by I#65# and launched in Io ember $HHB. In a free flying space robot a robot arm is attached to the satellite base. There is a ery specific control problem. "hen the robot arm mo es, it disturbs the altitude of the satellite base. This is not desirable because, The satellite may start rotating in an uncontrollable way. The antenna communication link may be interrupted.

*ne of the research ob1ecti es is to design robot arm tra1ectories and to control the arm motion in such a way that the satellite base remains undisturbed or that the disturbance will be minimum.

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'ree flying space robots

:.. SPACE STATION 4OUNTED RO-OTS

The international space station 4I667 is a sophisticated structural assembly. There will be se eral robot arms which will help astronauts in performing a ariety of tasks.
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D3,R,6 The figure shows a part of I66 including the Dapanese 3xperimental ,odule 4D3,7. # long manipulator arm can be seen. The arm is called D3,R,6 4D3, Remote ,anipulating 6ystem7. # small manipulator arm called 6;5, 46pecial purpose dexterous ,anipulator7 can be attached to D3,R,6 to impro e the accuracy of operation.

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6;5,

:.5 SPACE RO-OT TELEOPERATION

6pace robotics is one of the important technologies in space de elopments. 3specially, it is highly desired to de elop a completely autonomous robot, which can work without any aid of the astronauts. =owe er, with the present state of technologies, it is not possible to de elop a complete autonomous space robot. Therefore, the teleoperation technologies for the robots with high le els of autonomy become ery important. .urrently, the technologies where an operator teleoperates a space robot from within a spacecraft are already in practical use, like the capture of a satellite with the shuttle arm. =owe er, the number of astronauts in space is limited, and it is not possible to achie e rapid progresses in space de elopments with the teleoperation from within the spacecraft. 'or this reason, it has become highly desired to de elop the
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technologies for the teleoperation of space robots from the ground in the future space missions.

CONCLUSION
In the future, robotics will make it possible for billions of people to ha e li es of leisure instead of the current preoccupation with material needs. There are hundreds of millions who are now fascinated by space but do not ha e the means to explore it. 'or them space robotics will throw open the door to explore and experience the uni erse.

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REFERENCES
$. ). +. -. 8. >. www.andrew.cmu.edu(Pycia(robot.html www.space.mech.tohoku.ac.1p(research(o er iew(o er iew.html www.nanier.hq.nasa.go (telerobotics%page(technologies(98)-.html www.1em.tksc.nasda.go.1p(iss(+a(orbQrmsQe.html ;R*5:.TI*I T3.=I*?*2G by R. M. D#II IITR*5:.TI*I T* 6;#.3 R*0*TI.6 by #?3R 3??3RG

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A-STRACT
Robot is a mechanical body with the brain of a computer. Integrating the sensors and the actuators and with the help of the computers, we can use it to perform the desired tasks. Robot can do ha/ardous 1obs and can reach places where its difficult for human beings to reach. Robots, which substitute the manned acti ities in space, are known as space robots. The interest in this field led to the de elopment of new branch of technology called space robotics. Through this paper, I intend to discuss about the applications, en ironmental condition, testing and structure of space robots.

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CONTENTS
1. ). INTRODUCTION SPACE RO-OT/C*ALLEN,ES IN DESI,N AND TESTIN, .. 5. :. >. ?. S6STE4 3ERIFICATION AND TESTIN, STRUCTURE OF SPACE RO-OTS OPERATION CONCLUSION REFERENCES > 11 1? )1 )? )@ 1

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