SENER Aeroespacial finishes SIROM validation tests for MIRROR project

“Multi-Arm Installation Robot for Readying ORUs and Reflectors” or MIRROR scope consists of the development of a complete laboratory model of a system allowing the assembly in orbit of 12 meters telescope out of individual 1,2 meters mirror tiles. Such system consists of the following elements:

• 3-arm robot (each leg with 6 degrees of freedom) provided with a SIROM as end-effector.
• Individual 1,2 meters hexagonal tiles with 6 SIROM installed on the lateral sides (one SIROM per side) allowing interconnection of the tiles. Also, the mirror structure contains a SIROM on its bottom face to allow grasping by the manipulator arms.

As a result, SIROM is a critical element in this mission. In fact, SIROM not only provides the robot the ability to manipulate the tiles, but it also permits the robot to walk along the telescope structure while handling the tiles. Due to the MIRROR especial characteristics, SIROM design has been adapted to comply with the most stringent operation: triple docking.

The integration phase of MIRROR subsystems (SIROM. Robot, visual system, mirrors, etc.) has already started and will finish in the first quarter of 2022. Next, a rigorous test campaign will follow in GMV’s Platform-art advanced robotic laboratory (March-June 2022) and a final demonstration at ESA (July-December 2022).

The video shows the functional triple docking test performed in SENER Aeroespacial facilities with SIROM, a robotic UR10 arm and several mirror mock-ups.

SIROM is a robotic interface developed by SENER Aeroespacial that can be used both in orbital and planetary applications. As a robotic interface, SIROM integrates four different functionalities in a single mechanism: mechanical, data, electrical and fluids.