NASA's New Robotic Lander Prototype Skates Through Integration and Testing

ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2011)
— NASA engineers successfully integrated and completed system testing
on a new robotic lander recently at Teledyne Brown Engineering's
facility in Huntsville in support of the Robotic Lunar Lander Project at
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

---

The lander prototype was placed on modified skateboards and a
customized track system as a low-cost solution to control movement
during final testing of the prototype's sensors, onboard computer, and
thrusters. The functional test focused on ensuring that all system
components work seamlessly to sense, communicate, and command the
lander's movements.

The prototype will be transported to the United States Army Redstone
Arsenal Test Center in Huntsville this week to begin strap-down testing,
which will lead to free-flying tests later this year.

The lander prototype will aid NASA's development of a new generation
of small, smart, versatile landers for airless bodies such as the moon
and asteroids. The lander's design is based on cutting-edge technology,
which allows precision landing in high-risk, but high-priority areas,
enabling NASA to achieve scientific and exploration goals in previously
unexplored locations.

Development of the lander prototype is a cooperative endeavor led by
the Robotic Lunar Lander Development Project at the Marshall Center,
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory of Laurel, Md., and the Von
Braun Center for Science and Innovation, which includes the Science
Applications Internatil Corporation, Dynetics Corp., Teledyne Brown
Engineering Inc., and Millennium Engineering and Integration Company,
all of Huntsville.

For more information on the Robotic Lunar Lander Development Project, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/roboticlander

Share this post