In the early 1970's NASA was designing its new vehicle called the Space Shuttle. NASA's design for the Shuttle included a robotic arm for the recovery and deployment of satellites and other cargo.
Canada and NASA had a long standing relationship
of working together, so Canada was approached to design and build the Shuttle's
robotic arm. The Canadian government contracted SPAR Aerospace Limited,
of Toronto to design and built the arm. The engineers at SPAR had a difficult
task ahead of them. The NASA requirements were to build an arm that was
light, flexible and strong. Designs that used hydraulics would freeze in
space. Materials such as titanium, although strong, were too heavy. Over
the next seven years the engineers at SPAR designed and built an arm that
could pick-up, maneuver and re-position delicate cargo with ease. The first
arm cost approximately $ 100 million (Cdn) and was donated to NASA. Subsequent
robotic arms were built and sold to NASA for $ 25 million (Cdn) a piece.
The official NASA name for
the robotic arm is the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System or SRMS.
Canada calls it the Canadarm.
The Canadarm was first launch on November
12, 1981 aboard STS-2. A series of test demonstrated the operation and
maneuverability of the arm.
Canadarm has performed flawlessly for 20
years; placing satellites into their proper orbit and retrieving malfunctioning
ones for repair. Perhaps its most notable mission was the repair of the
Hubble Space Telescope. Canadarm was used as a mobile work platform for
astronauts during numerous space walks required to repair the faulty telescope.
Canadarm played a critical
role retrieving the satellite, placing it in the cargo bay for repairs,
and then re-deploying it.
Unplanned exercises for Canadarm have included
knocking a block of ice from a clogged waste-water vent that might have
endangered the Shuttle upon re-entry, pushing a faulty antenna into place,
and successfully activating a satellite that failed to go into proper
orbit.
In December, 1998 Canadarm played a critical
role in the first assembly mission of the International Space Station,
mating the U.S. Unity Node to the Russian built Zarya. Canadarm will continue
to play a vital role in the assembly of the International Space Station.
On
STS-100, Canadarm assisted with the delivery and installation of Canadarm2.
