Three hundred miles above Earth, historic events in space are occurring. For the first time in history, a spacecraft robotically is transferring propellant and a battery to a client satellite. This major milestone is being accomplished by Boeing's Orbital Express system. Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Orbital Express is paving the way for future space operations.
Unlike the work performed on the International Space Station where astronauts service and maintain equipment in a zero gravity environment, the mechanic of Orbital Express is an unmanned spacecraft capable of docking to, inspecting, servicing, de-orbiting or relocating satellites. This unmanned operation in orbit will significantly extend the life, operation and cost of various types of spacecraft.
Orbital Express consists of the Boeing spacecraft ASTRO (Autonomous Space Transport Robotic Operations) and NextSat, a prototype satellite developed by Ball Aerospace. Integrated systems to perform orbital operations include electrical, command and data handling, flight control, and attitude and propulsion control. Components include rendezvous sensors, an autonomous fluid transfer unit and the robotic arm used to grapple the NextSat space craft and to transfer replacement batteries and electronics.
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