Robotic Gripper for Satellite Capture and Servicing

The robotic gripper was developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as part of a robotic satellite servicing mission. The gripping device can be used to autonomously or remotely grasp and control an out-of-fuel or otherwise disabled satellite. Specifically, the gripper interfaces to the separation ring (marman ring) of the client spacecraft and when closed, is sufficient to constrain all six degrees of freedom of motion between the servicing spacecraft and the client. The jaws are designed with a conformable geometry that allows the same gripper to interface to all spacecraft separation rings commonly used with Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles.