#Canadarm

[lonestarflight]

Space Shuttle: Canadarm

Officially named the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System, or SRMS. "In 1969, Canada was invited by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to participate in the Space Shuttle program. At the time what that participation would entail had not yet been decided but a manipulator system was identified as an important component. Canadian company DSMA ATCON had developed a robot to load fuel into CANDU nuclear reactors; this robot attracted NASA's attention. In 1975, NASA and the Canadian National Research Council (NRC) signed a memorandum of understanding that Canada would develop and construct the Canadarm.

NRC awarded the manipulator contract to Spar Aerospace (now MDA). Three systems were constructed within this design, development, test, and evaluation contract: an engineering model to assist in the design and testing of the Canadarm, a qualification model that was subjected to environmental testing to qualify the design for use in space, and a flight unit."

"The Remote Manipulator System is plugged on a side panel (left side) of the pyaload bay. The shoulder is on the front (near the cabin) and 15.3 m long (35.7 cm of diameter). It is fasten by three points on the payload bay. It could have been plugged on the right side of the Orbiter but it has never be done because the Ku antenna must be moved. Only one arm can be controlled by the crew (rear wall), even if the wires are already plugged to control two.

Its weight is 411 kg on Earth (carbon fibre), it can move payload of 29 tons in orbit. But it can't move its own weight on Earth, so to test it, it was lay on wheels. Equipped with video camera (one on the elbow and one wrist), it can move payload, bring them back or even act as a ladder for the astronauts during the EVAs. Finally, due to its high mobility it can also be used to look at different parts of the Orbiter."

"The first Canadarm was delivered to NASA in April 1981. Astronaut Judith Resnik developed the NASA software and onboard operating procedures for the system. In all, five arms – Nos. 201, 202, 301, 302, and 303 – were built and delivered to NASA. Arm 302 was lost in the Challenger accident."

source, source, source, source

NASA ID: STS002

[fuckablerobotbracket]

[ethangbb]

Discovery with her OBSS out on STS-114

[deeps-repus]

Thinking about her

[walrusmagazine]

Canada’s Big Flex in Space

The Canadarm started as a boring robotic appendage. Now the future of space travel depends on it

Chris Hadfield trained four years for a seven-hour spacewalk. On April 22, 2001, he and American astronaut Scott Parazynski were tasked with assembling and installing a payload, which had arrived with them via space shuttle, onto the International Space Station. The payload was the Space Station Remote Manipulator System—or, as it’s colloquially known on planet Earth, Canadarm2, the latest robotic limb in a series of Canadarms first announced in 1975 through a joint US–Canadian agreement. The original Canadarms (pronounced “Cana-darm,” not “Canada arm”—a pet peeve of Hadfield’s) were critical to the assembly and growth of the ISS.

Read more at thewalrus.ca.

[insignificantstrawberry]

I’m better than the astronauts from the I.S.S. horror movie on amazon prime because I didn’t NEED to be blasted up a billion centimetres into orbit and see the planet turn to know that borders aren’t real and governments won’t save you and we просто нужно помнить о том, что нужно держаться вместе.

[canadianfruitpunch]

I got some prints for my apartment for Christmas and I’m sososo excited to get them up

[wheeloffortune-design]

I'm with a celebrity!

say hi to the CanadARM!!

he went to space!

you've probably seen him in this movie

[spacefrontier]

Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-114. July 26, 2005.

STS-114 was the first Return to Flight following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

The primary mission of STS-114 was the testing and evaluation of new Space Shuttle flight safety techniques, which included new inspection and repair techniques. Crew aboard Discovery used the new Orbiter Boom Sensory System, a set of instruments attached to the Canadarm, to detect problems with the Shuttle's Thermal Protection System.

STS-114 also delivered supplies to the International Space Station, carrying the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, built by the Italian Space Agency, as well as External Stowage Platform 2, which was mounted on the Quest airlock.

STS-114 crew on orbit. Back row, from left: Pilot James Kelly; Mission Specialists Charles Camarda, Stephen K Robinson, and Wendy Lawrence. Front row, from left: Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas, Commander Eileen Collins, and Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi, representing the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

NASA 1, 2, 3

[countriesgame]

Please reblog for a bigger sample size!

If you have any fun fact about the International Space Station, please tell us and I'll reblog it!

Be respectful in your comments. You can criticize a government without offending its people.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Part Two: Space

Part One: Here. Part Two: You are Here. Part Three: Here.

Author's note: Inspired by the 1950s short story "The Man Who Came Early" by Poul Anderson. This is as close to sci-fi as I've ever written and therefore not accurate to the ISS or other actual science because its time travel. Warnings for panic and some goreless action.

International Space Station 400 km above the surface of the Earth. 21st Century

“Careful up there, Jones.” The navigation officer’s voice echoed through the intercom, making Alfred look up, a domed helmet in his hand. He grinned.

“Don’t you worry yourself, darling,” He replied. “I’ve sat on some bison bigger than that panel.”

He could practically hear her eye roll. “Stay in communication and don’t pull another stunt like that backflip.”

“Aww, c’mon. Kids on the live stream went wild for it.”

“Try me, Jones. There won’t be a presidential order on earth that’ll get you back up here again.”

“Laaaaaame.”

The ISS floated serenely 400 kilometres above the earth. Alfred sailed from the equipment locker, pushing off until he reached the airlock. An old hand at this, it was almost as intuitive as horseback riding was when he was younger, but his heart sped up anyway. He clamped his helmet down and checked the comms.

“Eagle Scream, back to baseboys, over. Confirm baseboys.”

He could practically hear an eye roll from the command module. “Eagles don’t even scream. They get that sound from a hawk.”

“That should be a state secret.” Alfred grumbled. There was a whoosh as the airlock was sealed at the inner end. He opened the outer hatch, giving it one final pat for good luck. Hitching his tether, he grabbed the metal rails and took a moment. He never got sick of this part, the void of nothingness with the sheer expanse of the universe before him. The sun was at 40 degrees; the planet was just behind him.

Tossing a look over his shoulder, he could see the little green sweep of Nantucket at the edge of a grey nor’easter. He released one hand to get a better look. He was a handsome bugger from this angle, almost a thousand miles above the earth. He couldn’t quite reach his ass in the suit, but California looked good regardless. When he was done being vain, reverence swept him through the weightless silence. He leaned his helmeted head against his shoulder, watching his pale blue dot. He smiled: home sweet home.

“Move your ass, Jones.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He snapped out of his reverie, grinning in the helmet. After releasing the rails, he sailed gracefully up and behind until the Canadarm appeared. She was preloaded. All he had to do was line it up, fix some wiring and screw it in, and they were golden.

“Jones to command. Jones to command. Come in command. Need you to swing’er over nice and easy.”

The bright white arm twitched on its crane-like elbow joint, and its flexing attachment worked as steel fingers clamped on the panels and kept them in place as Alfred fastened them. It had better joints than Matt, only whirring softly instead of popping and creaking like organic bubble wrap. Alfred positioned himself near the panel that needed replacing, flexing his hands and cracking his knuckles before pulling out his wrench. The arm reached out, perhaps a bit too fast.

“Whoa, easy on the gears! My brother will shit bricks if we fuck up his baby.”

“Sorry.”

Alfred replaced the panels for an hour. The steady guidance of the Canadarm provided the stability he needed to make damn sure the solar panel was securely in place. He stopped, needing an adjustment as the command module chatted with Houston.

Alfred patted the arm and said, "You've got a better grip on that panel than Mattie does on his mental health." She was almost alive, the machinery warm, and she practically purred.

“Captain, we’ve got some funky radiation readings.”

“Almost done, just crank’er up .2 degrees and I can get this finished and come back in for some sweet tea.”

“Houston advises re-entry.”

So? They hadn’t ordered to retreat, and navigation wasn’t panicking. “I just need oh point two degrees and thirty seconds.”

“Noted.”

Canadarm moved a touch. “There you go.” He centred the panel and lined up the screws. He was the last one in when the alarm rang. Emergency lights flashed red and blue. Alfred had never heard them in action before and grew cold. Comms opened again. No. He breathed. He was not panicking.

“Captain, they’re ordering re-entry.”

“Retract the arm. On my way.”

Alfred gripped the rungs and swung his line out of the way. He pushed off hard and scrambled over the top of the rigid cylinder of the can-shaped module. It was dark here, away from his work lights and sliding across the expanse towards the hatch. He caught himself on the handle, keeping his movements controlled.

“Captain?”

“Almost there.”

“Radiations rising!”

Alfred glanced towards the sun, not looking at it. It was brighter now, with dark fire spots. The rings of light jumping up the Corona stretched and flexed like the hoops of the flexible baleen skirts he used to crawl under every now and then before Lemonade Lucy came along and put him on the straight and narrow.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me we were going to get solar flares?”

“The data didn’t show any!”

“Well, that just dills my pickle.” He muttered. He was almost at the hatch. It was brighter now, and he scrambled up the rungs, barely touching one before climbing the next. Alfred swung at the hatch.

Almost there, almost there. Why was he hot? He shouldn’t be hot. His fingers slipped inside his gloves, but he had the lever in his hand. The world fell black before he closed his fingers.

Incident Report Diplomatic Security Service Bureau of Diplomatic Security State Department

On [redacted] and at [redacted], the ISS and ground services at Carnaval facilities reported unusual radiation readings and advised the crew to return inside. See addendum one. Captain [redacted] was in contact with personnel until Captain [redacted]'s suit abruptly transmitted a distress beacon. A thorough search of the ISS was conducted, leading to the discovery of an empty spacesuit, with the helmet still attached. The inner flight suit, including the Snoopy cap and lining, was not recovered. It has been suggested that a replacement may have been made. However, the space suit contained four viable samples of [redacted]'s DNA, leaving no doubt that it belonged to [redacted]. See Addendum Two.

Two simultaneous investigations were conducted by a multidisciplinary team of experts from [redacted] and [redacted]. Interviews were conducted, telemetry data analyzed, and video footage reviewed. The spacesuit Captain [redacted] wore was intact, with no signs of damage or malfunction. Video footage and telemetry data did not reveal any abnormalities or anomalies, except as previously noted. Crew interviews did not provide any significant information regarding the incident. Pushback regarding these results has been seen overseas, significantly [redacted] and [redacted]. It is the recommendation of this body that our counterparts be updated as to the results of this investigation due to the international familial ties of the next of kin and the diplomatic pressure being leveraged.

[lonestarflight]

During STS-2 Columbia, the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (RMS), or Canadarm, was tested for the first time and was successfully operated in all its various operating modes.

This mission one of the three fuel cells failed, necessarily the mission to be shortened to two days. These fuel cells produce the electricity for the shuttle and drinking water for the Astronauts. Initially, NASA was going to forego the Canadarm tests. However, Astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly stayed awake during their scheduled sleep period to complete these tests. They were able to complete 90% of the planned objectives during the shortened mission.

In mission control, Sally Ride was the Capsule Communications Operator (CapCom), and was the first woman to be in this position. CapCom is held by an astronaut who communicates with the crew members in their spacecraft from Mission Control. Ride was chosen as Capcom in part because of her experience and skill in using the Canadarm, and she assisted crew in manuevering it.

View from the elbow camera of the aft bulkhead of Columbia and Sally Ride's reaction to the crew's "Hi Mom" sign.

About 19 months later, Sally Ride became the first American female Astronaut to fly into space aboard STS-7 Challenger.

Date: November 13, 1981

NASA documentary about the STS-2 mission: link

NASA ID: STS002-12-833, STS002-13-226, S81-34005, S81-33963

[fuckablerobotbracket]

[annieqattheperipheral]

thinking about crozarm

that's our canadarm back down from space

[whirligig-girl]

One of my biggest and best commissions yet. Torchship: Forbidden Space cover art, commissioned by Gorn. This cover art is for an audio drama podcast taking place in the same universe as @torchship-rpg, following the crew of the Mary Gilham-32. I'll let Gorn explain:

The year is 2169. The place? The Aquilian De-militarized Zone. All that stands between Humanity and a Second Aquilian War. A buffer zone encompassing countless stars and civilisations, cut off from the greater galaxy by a crumbling treaty. It falls to the four Cosmonauts of stealth-rocket Mary Gillham-32 to explore this Forbidden Space. To find new friends, to supply aid to those who need it, to discover the wonders of the universe. And all without starting a shooting war with the Divine Aquilian Empire. Introducing: Torchship: Forbidden Space. A scripted, fully casted audio drama. The pilot episode, 'The Quality of Mercy', will release later this month on spotify, itunes, youtube, and any podcast host you can think of. Thumbnail art by the excellent Luna Rose

Announcement on twitter:

I had a lot of fun with this. Gorn was great to work with, and I got feedback from the voice actors for their character designs. Although I was given a framework, a lot of the character design was my own work and I'm quite happy with the result.

The characters are cosmonauts in the Interstellar Union of Republics' Star Patrol. They are flight engineer Holmes, an old Aquillian War veteran and cyborg, astrogator and psychic Martin (who is not from Mars), Yureli, the Martian hacker signals specialist, and Stevens, the welsh doctor. And don't forget the Mary Gilham-32, the faster than light stealth rocket ship.

Image ID:

Large text reads Torchship Forbidden Space. Digital art drawing with black background. A rocket ship with two rocket nacelles with glowing red lights on the front, and two warp drive rings, is in the background. In the foreground are four Star Patrol Cosmonauts. Holmes, a very tall bald woman with cybernetic implants and an orange engineering jumpsuit. An orange robotic arm similar to that on a mars rover or space shuttle Canadarm is perched on her shoulder. She looks at the viewer sternly, with a yellow glowing eye. Martin, a purple-eyed woman wearing a navy blue astrogation minidress, is on one knee and holding an ACER laser pistol, looking half-lidded at the viewer. A blue-green wispy aura or halo surrounds her head. Yureli, a short curvy woman in signals purple jumpsuit with a cute face and octagonal glasses, is kneeling and paying attention to a bulky scanning device with some cassette tapes. Stevens, a man with a goatee in mint-green medical jumpsuit, looks smugly at the viewer with his hands behind his back.

[clementine-kesh]

went on a tour of the canadian space agency and saw a scale model of the canadarm and it felt like meeting a celebrity