NASA's Use of Robotics in Materials Processing

On the second flight of the Space Shuttle NASA tested its Remote Manipulator System (RMS), but NASA's use of robotics is not limited to space. Here on Earth industrial robots are allowing safer and more uniform handling of materials used in Space Shuttle fabrication. Materials Lab specialists at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have applied several industrial robots to the fabrication and refurbishment of the Space Shuttle. This paper discusses these robot systems, the computer interfacing required to coordinate these various systems and projected future enhancements.