Automated assembly system for large space structures

Abstract

A research program to evaluate telerobotic methods for in-space assembly of large truss structures has been initiated at the NASA Langley Research Center. A commercial robot is mounted on a carriage positioning system and a tetrahedral truss which is composed of 1 02 members each 2 m long is assembled on a rotating motion base. The facility system is described and the current status of the assembly tests is discussed. Observations from these tests indicate that no problems have been encountered that would prohibit automated telerobotic assembly from being a viable in-space construction method.