Paper Session III-B - A Robot Based Concept for Automation of Servicing of Scientific Payloads Aboard Orbiting Laboratories

In a series of ESA contracts, Dornier has led the definition of a concept for a robot-based Equipment Manipulation and Transportation System ( EMATS ) for Columbus. This system was primarily designed for the man-tended Free Flying Laboratory, but could equally be adapted for a permanently manned Attached Laboratory. During the unmanned microgravity periods, EMATS can automatically provide the greater part of the scientific payload facility handling and logistics functions such as loading and unloading of experiment samples or consumables. During the manned servicing intervals from the Space Station Freedom or Hermes, EMATS would assist and support the crew in routine tasks or handling of large items (e.g. exchange of complete payload racks). Even unmanned servicing operations are possible in conjunction with various logistics vehicle concepts. For this purpose, several telerobotics features are foreseen such as teleoperation or supervised automatic operation from ground or from a small control station aboard the Free Flyer, Hermes, or the S.S. Freedom. After completion of system definition studies, the development of a ground testbed for Columbus internal Automation and Robotics has been started in mid-1990. This will demonstrate the technical feasibility and the usefulness of our concept for the remote support of scientific investigators by integration with the ESA Telescience Testbed and four different experiment payloads. The paper will summarize the envisioned application scenarios, the proposed EMATS system architecture, and selected technologies for key subsystems