Space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm stuck after maneuver
The jam leaves the station’s main robotic arm and its transporter unable to reposition themselves along the truss.
A recent "walk-off" maneuver left the International Space Station’s 58-foot-long Canadarm2 robotic arm and its mobile transporter unable to move along the station’s truss. Canadarm2, provided by the Canadian Space Agency, is designed with identical ends so it can reposition itself around the station’s exterior like an inchworm. The problem arose immediately after the maneuver, when the system failed to move as expected. As a result, the arm and transporter are currently stuck in place on the orbiting laboratory.
Why it matters
With Canadarm2 and its transporter stuck, the station temporarily loses flexibility in how it uses its main robotic arm for external work. Tasks that depend on shifting the arm’s position along the truss now have to adapt to its fixed location, at least until controllers understand and resolve the problem.
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Sources
- Ars Technica