Canadarm or Canadarm1 (officially Shuttle Remote Manipulator System or SRMS, also SSRMS) is a series of robotic arms that were used on the Space Shuttle orbiters to deploy, maneuver, and capture payloads. After the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the Canadarm was always paired with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), which was used to inspect the exterior of the shuttle for damage to the thermal protection system.

Development

thumb|Life-size replica of the Canadarm at the Euro Space Center in Belgium

In 1969, Canada was invited by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to participate in the Space Shuttle program. At the time what that participation would entail had not yet been decided but a manipulator system was identified as an important component.

NRC awarded the manipulator contract to Spar Aerospace (now MDA). while seconded to SPAR, originated the concept for the Canadarm End Effector, inspired by an elastic band around his fingers. Astronaut Judith Resnik developed the NASA software and onboard operating procedures for the system. In all, five arms – Nos. 201, 202, 301, 302, and 303 – were built and delivered to NASA. Arm 302 was lost in the Challenger accident.

Design and capabilities

left|thumb|[[Story Musgrave, anchored on the end of the Canadarm, prepares to be elevated to the top of the Hubble Space Telescope during STS-61.]]

The original Canadarm was capable of deploying payloads weighing up to in space. In the mid-1990s, the arm control system was redesigned to increase the payload capability to in order to support space station assembly operations. While able to maneuver payloads with the mass of a loaded bus in space, the arm motors cannot lift the arm's own weight when on the ground.

The Canadarm is long and diameter with six degrees of freedom. It weighs by itself, and as part of the total system. The Canadarm has six joints that correspond roughly to the joints of the human arm, with shoulder yaw and pitch joints, an elbow pitch joint, and wrist pitch, yaw, and roll joints.

Service history

thumb|[[Peter Wisoff|Peter J.K. Wisoff on the end of the arm, 1993]]

thumb|315px|right|The Canadarm2 moves toward a P5 truss section, being held by Discoverys Canadarm, in preparation for a hand-off during [[STS-116.]]

A simulated Canadarm installed on the was seen when the prototype orbiter's payload bay doors were open to test hangar facilities early in the Space Shuttle program. The Canadarm was first tested in orbit in 1981, on 's STS-2 mission. Its first operational use was on STS-3 to deploy and manoeuvre the Plasma Diagnostics Package.

Retirement

The Canadarm's 90th and final Shuttle mission was in July 2011 on STS-135, delivering the Raffaello MPLM to the ISS and back. It is on display at Johnson space center in Texas Discoverys Canadarm is displayed next to it in the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center. Endeavour left its OBSS at the International Space Station as part of its final mission, while its Canadarm was originally going to be displayed in the headquarters of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The last of the Canadarms to fly in space, the SRMS flown aboard Atlantis on STS-135 in July 2011, was shipped to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for engineering study and possible reuse on a future mission.

Derivatives

Canadarm2

Based on the Canadarm1, the larger Canadarm2 is used for berthing the trusses, berthing the commercial vehicles, and inspecting the whole International Space Station.

Canadarm3

The smaller Canadarm3 was planned to be used for berthing the modules, performing maintenance or repairs and inspecting the Lunar Gateway. In June 2024, the full contract for design and construction of the arm was awarded to MDA Space. On May 2, 2025, the project was canceled as a result of the second Trump administration's FY26 budget proposal, which resulted in the termination of the Lunar Gateway Program.

  • On November 13, 2012, Google Canada displayed a doodle on its home search page to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Canadarm's first use in space.
  • Starting November 7, 2013, Canadarm2 was included on the back of the Canadian five dollar note.

See also

  • List of Canadian inventions and discoveries

References

  • NASA:RMS: PAYLOAD DEPLOYMENT AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM
  • Canadian Space Agency : Canadarm
  • CBC Digital Archives - Canadarm - A Technology Star