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The Ranger Telerobotic Shuttle Experiment (RTSX) evolved from the Ranger Telerobotic Flight Experiment in October 1996. RTSX intended to demonstrate telerobotic servicing on International Space Station Orbit Replaceable Units (ORUs) and EVA equipment in the Space Shuttle cargo bay. Ranger TSX was designed as a four manipulator telerobot with one permanently attached to a Spacelab pallet. The manipulators perform dexterous manipulation, body repositioning, and stereo video viewing. Ranger TSX was an Integrated Product Development effort with participation from other NASA centers, universities, and industry. The NASA Telerobotics Technology Program is the preeminent space telerobotics program in the world. Ranger would have been the most advanced space robot in (or above) the world.
The Ranger TSX mission was planned as 48 hours of telerobotic operations conducted in twelve, four-hour blocks during a single Space Shuttle mission. Ranger would launch on the Space Shuttle, and remain attached to a Spacelab pallet carrier in the cargo bay. Mounted on the sides of the Spacelab pallet are the task elements and ORU boxes which comprised the task suite of the Ranger experiment. Links with ground based control stations were planned via the Orbiter communications system and SpaceNet. Once on-orbit, Ranger would first demonstrate simple robotic task operations, then move to more realistic and difficult robotic tasks planned for the International Space Station. When the basic mission objectives were complete, Ranger would attempt human EVA spacecraft servicing and work site preparation to explore the limitations of telerobots.
A companion vehicle, Ranger NBV II, designed for the neutral
buoyancy environment is still under development. Its uses include:
arm and vehicle design verification, mission operations scenario
verification and test, and astronaut training. RNBV II has the same
physical configuration as the planned RTSX with identical
manipulators. It can establish a neutral buoyancy simulation data set
for correlation to future on orbit experiments.
In June 2002, the Ranger TSX program was scaled back to conserve
resources while trying to find future space missions where Ranger
technolgy might participate. These include possible Ranger
manipulator on Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4 scheduled
for September 2004, and the reimergence of commercial interest in a
RTFX-type configuration.
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December |
Stage A software gold disk. |
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November |
Power Mangement Units, Sensor Relay Modules, &
bulkhead plate delivered. |
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October |
Fully integrated Dexterous wrist begins run-in and
functional testing. |
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September |
Ranger EVA mockup completes it 51st dive. |
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August |
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July |
NBV II Input Power Module delivered |
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June |
RTSX Ranked #2 shuttle cargo bay priority on integrated manifest priority list |
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May |
Payload Operations Working Group (POWG) meeting at PSI in Cambridge, MA |
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April |
EVA Mockup reaches 40 hours of neutral buoyancy test
time |
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March |
Bore Sight Camera/LED assembly delivered |
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February |
NBV II Input Power Module delivered |
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January |
Briefing to Misson Operations Directorite EVA Configuration Control Board |
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December |
Video Manipulator Camera/LED module delivered |
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November |
POWG at JSC |
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October |
EVA Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) at UMD |
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June |
POWG TIM at UMD |
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April |
Ranger EVA Mockup unvieled at "Maryland Day" University open house |
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March |
Corde Lane successfully defends Ph.D. dissertation on RTSX operator control schemes |
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February |
Brookhaven National Lab radiation testing on arm electronics' PLDs |
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December |
RTSX successfully passes its Phase 2, Space Shuttle Program, Payload Safety Review |
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November |
Code S ranks RTSX #2 behind ISIS |
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October |
Phase 2, Payload Data Safety Package submitted to Shuttle Safety Panel |
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September |
Delta CDR completed on Positioning Leg and Ranger Latch Mechanism |
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June |
RTSX CDR on most systems |
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Dr. David Akin |
Principal Investigator |
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Gardell Gefke |
Project Manager |
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Dr. Craig Carignan |
Robotic Control |
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Dr. Corde Lane |
Human Factors |
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Brook Sullivan |
Mission Operations |
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Julianne Zimmerman |
Mission Training |
The Ranger mission was envisioned as a multi-day operation controlled by two different control stations. The primary, a Flight Control Station, was to be located inside the Space Shuttle cabin. The other control station, the Ground Control Station, was for use at the Johnson Space Center PCC. This UMD advanced ground control station would have permited operational modes not planned for ISS, but which might have improve operator productivity and reduce operator fatigue. All on-orbit operations were to be compared to computer and neutral buoyancy simulations for refinement of earth-based simulations.
Ranger End Effecters APFR Quarter Turn Ring Puller
APFR Paddle Gripper
Bare Bolt Drive
Microconical End Effecter
Right Angle Drive
Tether Loop Gripper
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Remote Power Control Module - ISS RPCM ORU |
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Electronics Control Unit - HST ECU ORU |
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Articulating Portable Foot Restraint - APFR Work site |
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Contour Following |
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Spring Plates |
Electric Power System (EPS) [Lead: Wayne Deveroux]
Data Management System (DMS) [Lead: Jean-Marc Henriette]
Arm Electronics [Lead: Jean-Marc Henriette]
Telemetry and Video [Lead: Steve Sell]
Thermal Control [Lead: Dennis Loveless]
Ranger Latch Mechanisms [Lead: Marty Devaney]
Pallet Floor Secondary Structure (PFSS) [Lead: Walter Smith]
Body Structure [Lead: Marty Devaney]
Ranger TSX Software Development
[Lead: Stephen
Roderick]
Ranger Manipulator and Kinematic Control [Lead: Craig Carignan]
Ranger DMS Software [Lead: Stephen Roderick]
Control Station Software [Lead: Corde Lane]
Boundary Management Software [Lead: Stephen Roderick]
Software Development Plan [Lead: Stephen Roderick]
Ranger Neutral Buoyancy Components
[Lead: Brian
Roberts]
EVA Mockup during Neutral Bouyancy Test
(3/16/01)
Ranger EVA Mockup [Lead: Brian Roberts]
Ranger NBV II Ground Support Station [Lead: Brian Roberts]
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Flight Control Station [Lead: Steve Sell]
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Ground Control Station [Lead: Corde Lane]
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Payload
Systems, Inc. |
NASA Space Telerobotics Program |
Veridian Enginnering |
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Bare Spacelab Pallet for Carrier 7A.1 Orthogrids for Secondary Structure |
System Environmental Testing Facilities |
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Principal Investigator |
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Program Manager |
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Ranger TSX comments? |
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Web Page Questions or Comments? Email
Dave Akin
Copyright 1996-2002 Space Systems Laboratory
Last
modified: 11 July 2002
All specifications subject to change without notice.
