Caltech robot funded by DARPA assembles antenna support in orbit
A robot designed by Caltech and funded by DARPA just made history by assembling a structure in orbit.
As part of the ASTRA project, it put together a single support for a 1.4-meter-wide reflector antenna using an assortment of composite tubes, aluminum joints, and reflective film: humans provided remote support and oversight.
This is a big leap for building things in space, showing robots can handle tricky jobs far from Earth.
ASTRA demonstrates scalable in orbit assembly
ASTRA is part of DARPA's push to create giant antennas and solar panels directly in space, instead of launching bulky premade parts.
The robot used a simple, repeatable method (think Tinkertoys or K'Nex), which could eventually produce structures far larger than the machine doing the building.
Pulling this off means ASTRA is an orbital proof of concept for assembling larger structures piece by piece.