A recent test of NASA’s robotic arm was like executing a mathematical dance. The Tension Actuated in Space MANipulator (TALISMAN) arm was pushed and pulled across a lab floor in an intricately coded choreography.
TALISMAN started in a locked, stowed position. Its launch locks fired, and the arm maneuvered to a completely extended position.
The team conducted the successful ground deployment demonstration of the Commercial Infrastructure for Robotic Assembly and Services (CIRAS) project component April 3 at the Structures and Materials Test Laboratory at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
The project, aimed at advancing technologies to build large structures in space, is being conducted in collaboration with industry partner Northup Grumman.
CIRAS is a part of the In-Space Robotic Manufacturing and Assembly project portfolio, managed by NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions Program and sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
Image Credit: NASA/David C. Bowman