a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
4-Legged robot space explorer. Robot Rescuing an Astronaut on the Lunar Surface. Robot reminiscent of Odex-1. Legged robot turning a valve. Model Lunar walker from the French children's book "Permieres Vacances Sur La Lune" [“First Vacation on the Moon”], Marc Heimer – 1967. Above: Prediction of life on the moon c1965. Illustration from the …
Read More “1965 onwards – Miscellaneous Lunar and Off World Walker Concepts”
1974 Japanese Sci-Fi image of a Space Tug by Shigeru Komatsuzaki. Whilst it looks aggressive and attacking, it appears to be a rescue vehicle. Space Tugs by Sokolov and Leonov c1965. A depiction of an Unmanned Orbital Free-Flyer, similar to the 1982-4 Telepresence Servicer Unit (TSU) concept. Image source: projectrho.com Detail: Image source: projectrho.com Artwork …
Read More “1957 onwards – Miscellaneous Space Tugs with Manipulator Arms (Illustrations)”
1983 M.I.T. Beam Assembly Teleoperator (BAT) The SSL was founded in 1976 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its early studies in space construction techniques eventually led to the EASE (Experimental Assembly of Structures in EVA) flight experiment which flew on Space Shuttle mission STS-61B in late 1985. EASE was designed to evaluate the ability …
Read More “1983 – Beam Assembly Teleoperator (BAT) – University of Maryland (American)”
Lunar Construction Vehicle with manipulator arms. Above image from “The Next 50 Years on the Moon”, 1974. NASA Study Summary: “Project Horizon, Vol 2, Technical Considerations and Plans” Here’s a big study from 1959, done by the US Army, right about the time NASA was just becoming a going concern. There was a lot of …
Read More “1959 – Lunar Construction Vehicle from Project HORIZON – U.S. Army (American)”
An OMV leaves the payload bay of a Shuttle to deliver or retrieve satellites in orbits beyond the reach of the Shuttle itself. The basic OMV configuration. Any manipulator arm attachments are via appropriate kits, such as Integrated Operations Servicing System (IOSS) and Tumbling Satellite Recovery (TSR) both shown below. These are front-ended to the …
Read More “1984-7 – Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) + Kits – NASA (American)”