1961 – Manned Space Manipulators – Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (American)

LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION LOCKHEED-GEORGIA COMPANY MARIETTA, GEORGIA INTRODUCTION The first manipulative tasks required of man in a space operation will be those associated with establishing a station in orbit or with operating a manned vehicle or station in orbit. Practical environmental control systems required for human survival will probably result in performance degradation at best …

1960 – Space Manipulators – General Mills (American)

Donald F. Melton MECHANICAL DIVISION GENERAL MILLS. INC MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA INTRODUCTION Remote-handling systems can be defined as combinations of equipment the primary purpose of which is to move items relative to each other in a controlled environment. The system is includes not only the actuators and structures required for the physical tasks to be performed, …

1969 – Self-propelled Anthropomorphic Manipulator (SAM) – Edwin Johnsen (American)

SAM, a mobile manipulator, mimics the movements of an operator stationed at a far-distant control center. The Self-propelled Anthropomorphic Manipulator (SAM) that wears NASA logos was developed under Edwin Johnsen's direction in 1969 by the now defunct Space Nuclear Propulsion division of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Johnsen is credited with introducing the popular term …