Development of an EVA end-effector, grapple fixtures and tools for the satellite mounted robot system

Abstract

There are many tasks to be performed by space robots. However a single end-effector can not meet the individual task's requirements. NASDA is to launch an experimental robot satellite named ETS-VII. The satellite has a 6-DOF robot-arm to handle many experimental payloads. Payloads vary in mass, shape and size. Interfaces between payloads and the end-effector are standardized using grapple fixtures. Additional tools with grapple fixtures are also developed to meet specific task requirements. This paper shows current status of the space-robot's EVA end-effector and development result of the ETS-VII's end-effector, grapple fixtures and tools.