Although it has been a long wait, the International Space Station (ISS), is about to receive a new robotic arm.The European Robotic Arm (ERA), which was built more than 30 years ago, has failed to complete three of its planned missions to the ISS over the past 20 years due to technical problems.Now, the ERA will launch to the space station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan this month.The ERA is just over 11 meters in length and has seven joints, including an elbow, shoulders and wrists. It will be the first spacewalker arm that can work around the Russian segment of space station.The orbital arm is light and powerful and can anchor itself to the station. It can also move back-and-forth between fixed base points, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).The seven ERAs joints can handle multi-ton payloads. They are also agile enough to do a wide range of assembly tasks.ESA states that the main tasks of the arms will be to install, remove, and replace experiment payloads and large station components; transfer small payloads into and out of the station via the Russian airlock; transport spacewalkers from one area of the ISS, like a cherry-picker crane; as well as using its four cameras for inspection of the exterior of the ISS.New operational methods are also available with the incoming kit. The ERA can perform many tasks independently or semi-autonomously. The ERA can be operated by crew members either inside or outside of the station or via instructions given beforehand.After deployment and checkouts, ERA's first tasks in orbit are to install a radiator and set up an airlock for the latest module of space station.Two robotic arms are already stationed on the ISS, Canadas Canadarm2 (Japan Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System) and Canadas Canadarm2. These robotic arms are used to guide spacecraft into orbit and handle payloads from the U.S. or Japanese sections of the ISS. However, their reach and position prevent them working outside of the Russian section of the station.All eyes now turn to the rocket launch that will transport the ERA to space station. The mission is currently scheduled for July 15, with docking at ISS expected to occur on July 23.Recommendations of Editors
