Los Angeles-based Gitai announced Tuesday that its autonomous robotic arm has completed a successful technology demonstration outside the International Space Station.
Gitai CEO Sho Nakanose said in an interview with TechCrunch last year that the company is aiming to reduce in-space labor costs by a factor of 100, just as SpaceX and other providers have dramatically reduced launch costs. He said he is aiming to reduce that. We still have a ways to go before autonomous robotic systems eliminate the need for human labor, especially here on Earth. However, human labor is expensive and dangerous in space, so robots can replace it.
The 1.5-meter autonomous robotic arm, which the company calls S2, was launched to the ISS aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 in January. It was externally attached to Nanoracks' Bishop Airlock before completing a series of tasks essential to building a living and functioning structure in space. These include installing task panels, screwing and unscrewing small bolts, working with flexible materials, and installing and removing flexible electrical cables from connectors.
Image credit: Gitai
In the short term, the company is targeting on-orbit satellite services for spacecraft in low-Earth orbit and geostationary orbit. Gitai is also developing robotic satellites that can perform tasks related to this market, including rendezvous, docking, inspection and deorbiting, the statement said.
The eight-year-old startup plans to begin offering in-orbit services in 2026. The arm's Technology Readiness Level (TLR), a measure used by NASA to indicate technology maturity, is currently at the highest level of 7, Gitai said. . His other product for the company, the “inchworm-shaped” arm, also ranks in his TRL 7.