Astrobee
Short Name:The short name or acronym of the facility. Astrobee
Facility Description
Astrobee consists of three self-contained, cube-shaped, free-flying robots and a docking station. The robots are autonomous free fliers powered by fans and operate using vision-based navigations. They are operated remotely from the ground and have access to the entire U.S. Operating Segment (USOS) of the ISSInternational Space Station. The three Astrobee robots are named Honey, Bumble, and Queen.
The autonomous Astrobee robots are designed to help scientists and engineers develop and test technologies for use in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. to assist astronauts with routine duties. The robots also give ground operators additional eyes and ears on the space station, perform crew monitoring, conduct sampling, perform logistics management, and can accommodate up to three investigations. The Astrobee facility has enabled technology investigations that test computer vision, robotic manipulation, control algorithms, and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).
Availability:The general availability status of the facility. Please contact the facility manager
ISS Environment:The facility location (internal or external to the ISS.) Internal
Owner:The entity that owns the facility. NASA
Operator/Implementation Partner:The entity or ISS National Lab Implementation Partner that operates the facility.
NASA
Developer(s):The entity, or entities, that developed the facility.
NASA Ames Research Center
Facility Manager:The name of the facility manager and their organization.
Jose Benavides
NASA Ames Research Center
Manager Email:The facility manager's email address.
jose.v.benavides@nasa.gov
Parent Facility:Any facility that is necessary to operate the facility described on this webpage. i.e., a parent facility is one level higher in the operational hierarachy.
Child Facility:Facilities that can be operated within the facility described on this webpage.
Sponsoring Space Agency:The government space agency that sponsors investigations that use the facility. NASA
Equipment Category:"The facility's ISS National Lab equipment designation type. Designations include:
1. ISS National Lab Commercial Service Provider (CSP) Facility
2. Support Hardware
3. Capability Capability
Additional Information:Additional resources to learn more about the facility.
Astrobee on NASA’s SSRE
Astrobee: Free-Flying Robots for the International Space Station
