MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) have built a new generation of robo-arms, designed to act as repair mechanics for orbiting satellite. The Canadarm is a remote-controlled robotic manipulator arm originally developed for removing items from NASA’s Space Shuttle’s cargo bay while in orbit under the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System name.

 
The Next Generation Canadarm (NGC) has a 15-meter arm similar to the Canadarm 2 but, lighter and more compatible. The robo-arm can telescope out to nearly 50 feet and features six degrees of freedom –both handy for grasping passing satellites. The 15-meter arm also folds down to 16 square feet in order to fit into the current generation of spacecraft. In addition, the NGC includes a simulation testbed and semi-automated docking abilities, allowing flight engineers to simulate the prescribed mission plan and practice capture and docking procedures under realistic conditions.