Canadarm 2 (SSRMS)

Canada/USA

SSRMS= Space Station Remote Manipulator System

Launch & orbit data:

Designation	2674- / 01016-
Launch date - time	19 Apr 2001 - 18:40:42 UT
Launch site	KSC, LC39A
Launch vehicle	Space Shuttle
Orbiter	Endeavour #16
Mass (kg)
Orbital parameters:
- Perigee / Apogee	km
- Inclination	°
- Period	min

Canadarm history:

The first generation Canadarm (of which there were five) is used on the Orbiter itself. RMS 302 was lost with Challenger; RMS 201 seems to have been retired in 1995. This leaves three active RMS shared between four orbiters.

  Serial No.      First Use                 Most recent use

  201             Columbia    STS-2  1981   Discovery STS-63
  202             Columbia    STS-80 1990s  Atlantis STS-98
  301             Discovery   41-D   1984   Discovery STS-102
  302             Challenger  41-C   1984   Lost with Challenger 51-L
  303             Atlantis    STS-37 1991   Endeavour STS-100
  SSRMS           Destiny     ISS 6A 2001   -

The Canadarm-2 was launched in 2001; it has a LEE (Latching End Effector) on each end (LEE-A and LEE-B). The LEE is around 190 kg and about a metre long.
One LEE grabs the ISS and the other a satellite (like Dragon) or station component to be moved. The arm can ′walk′ across the station by alternately grabbing ISS at each end, first using A as its ′foot′ then B and then A, etc.
There is also a LEE on the MBS POA. The MBS (Mobile Base System) is a device that sits on the MT (Mobile Transporter) truck that goes up and down the truss railway.
The SSRMS can attach itself to the MBS and be moved along the truss to work on different parts of the station. MBS has four PDGF (Power/Data Grapple Fixture) attachment points; it also has a device called the POA (Payload/ORU Accommodations) for temporary storage of a cargo, and this POA has a LEE on it.

There are five LEE systems on the ISS:

LEE S/N 201, acting as LEE-B on the SSRMS.
LEE S/N 202, acting as LEE-A on the SSRMS until Oct 5, 2017.
LEE S/N 203, acting as the LEE on the MBS POA until Oct 5. Launched in 2002.
LEE S/N 204, a spare LEE stored on Express Logistics Carrier 1 (ELC-1). Launched in 2009.
LEE S/N 301, attached to the Dextre SPDM robot arm. Launched in 2008.

One of the LEE (Latching End Effector) systems on the end of the Canadarm-2 was replaced during Exp.53 on Oct 5, 2017.
The most heavily used LEEs are the ones on the end of the Canadarm and LEE 202 has been showing degraded behaviour recently. During the spacewalk it was swapped with LEE 203, so now LEE 203 is on the Canadarm-2 and LEE 202 is on the less-frequently-used MBS POA.

On Feb 16, 2018 (Exp.54) astronauts Vande Hei and Kanai made US spacewalk EVA-48, in suits 3003 and 3008, and SAFER units 15 and 13, to complete work on refurbising the Canadarm-2 and related systems. The airlock was depressurized about 1156 UTC and the hatch was opened at 1159 UTC. The crew removed LEE 202 from the Mobile Base System′s POA (Payload ORU Accommodations) unit at 1306 UTC. The POA LEE is used to temporarily stash large ISS components. LEE 202 was returned to the airlock at 1325 UTC. Next, LEE 201 was removed from the ESP2 storage platform at 1345 UTC and attached to the POA at 1359 UTC. By 1431 UTC work on the POA LEE installation was complete and LEE 201 became the new POA LEE. LEE 202 will be returned to Earth aboard a Dragon, and LEE 205 will be launched on a future mission to serve as an on-orbit spare. The astronauts also lubricated LEE 203 (SSMRS LEE A). The hatch was closed at 1750 UTC and Quest was repressurised at 1757 UTC.

Summary of the Canadarm LEE′s (Latching End Effector):

S/N  Pre2017    Post2018 
---  -------    --------
201  LEE B      POA LEE 
202  LEE A      Return to Earth 
203  POA LEE    LEE A 
204  ELC1 spare LEE B
301  SPDM LEE   SPDM LEE

Canadarm LEE

Latching_End_Effector

External links:

AmericaSpace: 210419-Remembering the Arrival of Canadarm2, 20 Years On

Ref.: #7(JR451,741,746), #127 - update: 21.05.21

Home