Caltech, with funding from DARPA, has demonstrated the first automated assembly of a structure in space without astronaut assistance using its ASTRA robotic system.
Caltech, with funding from DARPA, has demonstrated the first automated assembly of a structure in space without astronaut assistance using its ASTRA robotic system.
Operating in Earth orbit, the robot connected composite tubes and joints to construct a new section of a planned 1.4-meter reflector antenna. Although the full antenna was not completed, the demonstration could pave the way for building massive space telescopes, communication antennas, and solar power systems directly in orbit.