NASA's Robotic Refueling Mission: Day 1 (VIDEO)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Caption

Robotic refueling is challenging. Before a satellite leaves the ground, technicians fill its fuel tank through a valve that's then triple-sealed and covered with a protective blanket, designed never to be accessed again. RRM paves the way for a future robotic servicing mission by demonstrating that a remote-controlled robot can overcome these obstacles to service and refuel a satellite on orbit. On Jan. 14, 2013, NASA engineers put a robot to work outside the International Space Station to test some of these capabilities.

Credit

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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