<title>Ranger telerobotic shuttle experiment: a status report</title>

Abstract

This paper presents an update on the Ranger Telerobotic Shuttle Experiment (RTSX) and associated key robotics technologies within the Ranger program. Ranger TSX will operate from a Spacelab logistics pallet inside the cargo bay of the shuttle and will demonstrate space station and on-orbit servicing operations including extravehicular (EVA) worksite setup, an orbital replacement unit (ORU) exchange, and various task board experiments. The flight system will be teleoperated from the middeck inside the shuttle as well as from a ground control station at NASA Johnson Space Center. This paper addresses the technical and programmatic status of the flight experiment and describes progress on the engineering test unit, Ranger Neutral Buoyancy Vehicle II (RNBVII), currently in fabrication. Also described are associated technologies, which support this effort. These include a flight robot mockup built to practice EVA stowage and Ranger NBV I, a free-flight prototype vehicle.