Space Spiders to Assemble Satellites in Orbit

Grubby Games writes "New Scientist reports that a JAXA mission to determine whether spider-like robots could construct complex structures in space is set to launch in January 2006. The spider bots could build large structures by crawling over a 'web' released from a larger spacecraft. The engineers behind the project hope the robots will eventually be used to construct colossal solar panels for satellites that will transmit solar energy back to Earth."

Comments

This is just one of many...

[Chris Bradshaw]

I'm suprised how little publicity JAXA gets (with the exception of Hayabusa). There are some very interesting, projects currently in progress. It's worth checking out...

http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/index.shtml

Suborbital research and private spaceflight

[FleaPlus]

From the article: The satellite will be deployed from a rocket on a sub-orbital trajectory. This means scientists will have only 10 minutes of microgravity in which to perform their tests before the craft starts its descent back to Earth and eventually burns up in the atmosphere.

I find it interesting that this research is being done with a suborbital launcher. People often dismiss ventures like SpaceShipOne and Virgin Galactic because they aren't orbital, but perhaps the cost efficiencies of private ventures could help suborbital space research?

Does anyone have an idea of how much suborbital launches currently cost, and how this compares to Virgin Galactic's prices? Of course, one would likely need to add some sort of satellite deployment mechanism...

it's about damn time...but still too soon

[mr_matticus]

Now here's a technology we should all be able to get behind. By building in orbit, we can make spacecraft much larger and more sophisticated, from probes and satellites to huge passenger liners (if we have anywhere to go). We can make all sorts of things better and cheaper--optical lenses, crystals, precious gems, you name it. But it's not the incentives or the ability that will keep this from happening.

No, it's the problem of who owns space. Who collects taxes for orbital manufacturing? Who pays for the infrastructure to shuttle things back and forth from orbit? The ambitious and egalitarian notions that space is for all of mankind is exactly right; the problem is that we haven't progressed far enough on the ground to deal with that reality. Entering space was supposed to promote the idea that we're all on the same little rock together and that we have to face the much bigger galaxy on a united front, as citizens of the same planet. But it just hasn't happened.

Despite the benefits, I don't think we're ready for the consequences yet. Just because we've advanced enough so we can do a thing doesn't mean we should do that thing.

Space Program or Web Services?

[justinchudgar]

It is scaring me that press releases from NASA sounds just about like press releases from IBM. AJAX or JAXA? XML, eXtensible Markup Language, or LMX, Lunar Mission '10? I'm confused and minding it less and less.

Furoshiki Satellite

[Anonymous Coward]

Research on Large Membrane Furoshiki Satellite

FYI:
Furoshiki is traditional wrapping-cloth in Japan.
Often, old women use Furoshiki as a substitute of bag.
For example, when carrying a watermelon, Furoshiki is used as follows.
Suika-zustumi

Re:Novelty

[Anonymous Coward]

I dunno. People say that mining and manufacturing certain things in space are where the money is at. I have this idea that money is smart...maybe intelligent risk is what is smart. I doubt anybody would want to live in a place like space for a long time. So I think building robots, or concepts of robots right now, to do major work in space is where things are going. I think NASA said what it was about when they decided to send robots where humans couldn't really afford to go and got sizable scientific gains. Who cares about the spiders as long as we can start to see the best way to bring the wealth back home. I'm almost crazy enough to say that everything might get better if we can expand the amount of wealth we all share. Nevermind.

Re:Armageddon... for solar panels

[Nuffsaid]

Far from being an expert in orbital dynamics, I suspect that solar radiation would accelerate this structure while it's on one half of its orbit, and slow it down it when it's on the other half. Shouldn't the forces compensate? Or maybe it would result in an orbit more and more elliptical, until it intersecates Earth's athmosphere?

Re:Hahah Excellent!

[Mesinjah]

All hail the spidersbots! A new day dawns. Dream on... More garbage in our orbits to avoid hitting in the future.