Robots rescue satellites

Researchers at Queen’s University in Canada are helping to develop a new robotic system to service more than 8,000 satellites now orbiting the Earth, beyond the flight range of ground-based repair operations.

Currently, when the high-flying celestial objects malfunction - or simply run out of fuel - they become 'space junk' cluttering the cosmos.

But because they are many thousands of kilometres away, the satellites are beyond the reach of an expensive, manned spaced flight, while Earth-based telerobotic repair isn’t possible in real time.

To help address the issue, Queen's electrical and computer engineering professor Michael Greenspan is developing tracking software that will enable an autonomous space servicing vehicle (ASSV) to grasp the ailing satellite from its orbit and draw it into the repair vehicle’s bay.

Once there, remote control from the ground station can be used for the repair.

'The repair itself doesn’t have to be done in real time, since everything is in a fixed position and a human can interact with it telerobotically to do whatever is required,' he said.