Research/ ORBITAL ROBOTICS
Astrobee: Developing a Free-flying Robot for the International Space Station
Maria G. Bualat, Jonathan S. Barlow, Terrence Fong, Chris Provencher, Trey Smith
Microgravity Mobility & Free-FlyersOpenAlex keyword: Astrobee · HRI & Teleoperationtext match
Astrobeenamed in title, abstract, keywords
OpenAlexSpace Satellite Systems and Control · Space Exploration and Technology · Spacecraft Design and TechnologyNTRSSpacecraft Design, Testing and Performance · Engineering (General) · Cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Astronaut time will always be in short supply, consumables (e.g., oxygen) will always be limited, and some work will not be feasible, or productive, for astronauts to do manually. Free flyers offer significant potential to perform a great variety of tasks, include routine, repetitive or simple but long-duration work, such as conducting environment surveys, taking sensor readings or monitoring crew activities. The "Astrobee" project is developing a new free flying robot system suitable for performing Intravehicular Activity (IVA) work on the International Space Station (ISS). This paper will describe the Astrobee project objectives, initial design, concept of operations, and key challenges.\n\n\n