Autonomous robots will one day assemble telescopes directly in space

A solution to this problem currently undergoing research involves sending telescopes into space in separate components. These components could then be assembled by autonomous robots once the instrument is in orbit.

This approach has been examined under the EU-funded project PULSAR, which stands for Prototype of an Ultra Large Structure Assembly Robot. The project’s goal is to develop the technological bricks needed to autonomously assemble large structures in space.

PULSAR is headed by the French firm Magellium and includes seven other European organizations, including CSEM. The project team has just unveiled three demonstrators, one of which is for a high-precision autonomous robotic system that would be used to assemble a telescope’s primary mirror. This demonstrator can build a 1:3 scale mirror (300 mm x 180 mm) consisting of six tiles weighing 11 kg each. In the demonstrator, each tile is covered with a transparent plate but under real-world conditions, they would be equipped with a mirror.

Tripods allow for ultra-precise adjustments

The demonstrator includes a robotic arm that connects six components together and operates them. CSEM custom-designed the six tiles, including two with tripods enabling them to adjust their positions with a precision of one micron (i.e., one-fiftieth the width of a human hair) and a repeatability better than five microns.

The tripods can achieve such accuracy thanks to the use of 3D-printed flexible joints, a first in this kind of space application. “The 3D-printed joints prevent the system’s components from rubbing against each other and wearing out, eliminating the need for lubricant,” says Rouvinet. “That means the system can operate for longer and deliver enhanced precision.” The software used to control and calibrate the system was also developed by CSEM’s engineers.

Broader applications

With the completion of the demonstrators, the PULSAR project is ending but research in this area is just getting started. “Telescopes are not the only large structures that will one day need to be assembled in space,” says Rouvinet. “And this robotic system could be used for other purposes as well, such as to repair satellites, refuel space stations, assemble solar panels or even build huge heat shields for missions to land on Mars.”

For now, all scientific eyes are on the James Webb Space Telescope, which has met the physical limits of what can be carried into space with current technologies. PULSAR, however, is not alone in its attempt to break this physical technological barrier. “NASA engineers are developing a folding telescope that could fit into the large-payload spacecraft that SpaceX intends to eventually launch,” says CSEM project manager Antoine Ummel. “Research efforts will undoubtedly step up once we receive the first images from the James Webb.”

CSEM’s 3D-printed structures were presented at ESMATS, an international symposium held by the European Space Agency (ESA), and will be on display at the 2022 International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing for Air, Space and Land Transportation, which is jointly organized by ESA and NASA.