Europe’s New Robotic Arm Completes Its First Task Outside the ISS

The European Space Agency ’s jumbo mechanical weapon just pulled off its first play , restfully moving a suitcase - sized load from one side of an orbiting science module to another .

It ’s been a pugnacious ride for the EuropeanRobotic Arm . Its journeying towards installation has been marred bypolitical tensionsandfailed spacewalks , but despite these external hardship , the 37 - foot - long ( 11.3 - foot - long ) subdivision has remained patient and unbothered . Its meter has at long last come .

On August 24 , the European robotic arm successfully make out its first transferral outside the International Space Station , ESAannouncedon Thursday . By following the commands of onboard Russian astronaut , the sleeve unhook a small payload from a single pin door latch locate on the Nauka science module . The robot then moved the payload across to the other side and installed it back to its original position . The full operation took around six hours , after which the robot go back into hibernation style .

The ground team at ESA’s control room in the Netherlands monitored the arm’s movements in space.

The ground team at ESA’s control room in the Netherlands monitored the arm’s movements in space.Image: ESA

Launched to space in July 2021 , ESA ’s robotic weapon system is designed to function like a human arm but with the power to move up to 17,600 pounds ( 8 tonne ) while operating outside the orbiting space place . The golem arm has two hands and is the first robot subject of anchoring itself to the ISS , moving back and off by wobble one hand over the other like an measuring worm . The purpose of the weapon is to comfort the load of ISS cosmonaut , quite literally . The giant arm will be used to transfer payloads as they arrive to the space station without the pauperism for spacewalk astronauts . It ’s even designed to transport the astronauts themselves while they perform their spacewalks .

A European syndicate led by Airbus Defense and Space in the Netherlands designed and educate the robotic limb for ESA . But the golem is not fully installed just quite yet . On Friday , the automaton arm is scheduled for more outfitting work as Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev pretend out on another spacewalk at 9:20 a.m. Eastern Time to discharge the tasks they were n’t able-bodied to cease during their last spacewalk . During the previous attempt to work on the robot weapon system on August 17 , thespacewalk had to be slew little when Artemyev ’s spacesuit malfunctioned .

The spacewalk had previously been target in query due to ongoing tensions between ESA and its Russian counterpart over the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Roscosmos former brain Dmitry Rogozin hadthreatened to keep back accessto the robotic arm , even commanding the cosmonaut todiscontinue their work on the European robotic armand instead have ESA ’s Director General Josef Aschbacher “ pilot to space ” and do it himself .

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But work on the European robotic branch continues , with a so - called “ carrying out commission ” plan for September . “ operation will require pass judgment the performance of the brakes , joint motion and [ European Robotic Arm ’s ] force ascendancy . Teams on ground will also assess the quality of the images captured by the tv camera on its elbows for guiding operations even during the orbital night , ” ESA wrote in a financial statement .

So while the golem is departed in low Earth orbit for now , it will soon bend its mechanically skillful joints once again for more heavy lifting .

More : Russia Now Wants to Build Its Own Space Station Before get out the ISS

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