Future Free Flyer Science on the ISS

The Astrobee Research Facility will maintain three identical free-flying Astrobee robots on the ISS. After the Astrobees are launched and commissioned in 2018, they will replace the SPHERES robots that have been operating on the ISS since 2006. Astrobee can fly autonomously throughout most of the US section of the ISS interior, but cannot operate outside the ISS. Astrobee is propelled by a pair of battery-operated fans, and can autonomously return to a docking station to recharge, so it can perform most activities without requiring any astronaut support. It carries a suite of six cameras, a two degree-of-freedom (DOF) arm with a gripper that can grasp ISS handrails and other objects, and three payload bays that provide power and data for guest science hardware. It can autonomously execute hours-long plans (for example, sensor surveys) or be teleoperated live from the ground or by astronauts.