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fork(2) [soylentnews.org] writes:

While Congress seems somewhat hostile [spacepolicyonline.com] towards a mission to "redirect" an astroid (or at least a part of one), they do seem willing to fund some of the stuff [spacenews.com] that such a mission would help develop and prove. In April, Marcia S. Smith, writing at spacepolicyonline.com, [spacepolicyonline.com] said, "Space technology is level-funded at $686.5 million (compared to FY2016) and the committee specifies that $130 million of that is for the RESTORE-L satellite servicing technology development program that was shifted into space technology from space operations last year. Aeronautics would receive $601 million, $39 million less than FY201".

So, just what is the RESTORE-L program?

From nasa.gov [nasa.gov] we learn:

In May, NASA officially moved forward with plans to execute the ambitious, technology-rich Restore-L mission, an endeavor to launch a robotic spacecraft in 2020 to refuel a live satellite. The mission -- the first of its kind in low-Earth orbit -- will demonstrate that a carefully curated suite of satellite-servicing technologies are fully operational. The current candidate client for this venture is Landsat 7, a government-owned satellite in low-Earth orbit.

      Beyond refueling, the Restore-L mission also carries another, weighty objective: to test other crosscutting technologies that have applications for several critical upcoming NASA missions. As the Restore-L servicer rendezvous with, grasps, refuels, and relocates a client spacecraft, NASA will be checking important items off of its technology checklist that puts humans closer to Mars exploration.

      Restore-L technologies include an autonomous relative navigation system with supporting avionics, and dexterous robotic arms and software. The suite is completed by a tool drive that supports a collection of sophisticated robotic tools for robotic spacecraft refueling, and a propellant transfer system that delivers measured amounts of fuel at the proper temperature, rate, and pressure.

"Restore-L effectively breaks the paradigm of one-and-done spacecraft. It introduces new ways to robotically manage, upgrade and prolong the lifespans of our costly orbiting national assets. By doing so, Restore-L opens up expanded options for more resilient, efficient and cost-effective operations in space," says Frank Cepollina, leader of five crewed servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope. Cepollina now serves as the associate director of the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office (SSCO), the team that first conceived of the Restore-L concept and developed its technology portfolio.

The SSCO [nasa.gov] says, "It takes years of testing, countless hours of design, and five new technologies to make robotic satellite servicing a reality."

The five new technologies are:

AUTONOMOUS, REAL-TIME RELATIVE NAVIGATION SYSTEM -- Sensors, algorithms and a processor join forces, allowing Restore-L to rendezvous safely with its client.

SERVICING AVIONICS -- In addition to ingesting and crunching sensor data, these elements control Restore-L's rendezvous and robotic tasks.

DEXTEROUS ROBOTIC ARMS -- Two nimble, maneuverable arms precisely execute servicing assignments. Software comes included.

ADVANCED TOOL DRIVE AND TOOLS -- Sophisticated, multifunction tools are manufactured to execute each servicing task.

PROPELLANT TRANSFER SYSTEM -- This system delivers measured amounts of fuel to the client at the right temperature, pressure and rate.

The expected launch is the 2020 time-frame. Stay tuned!

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