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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadarm | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadarm | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:20:52.556317+00:00 | kb-cron |
The original Canadarm was capable of deploying payloads weighing up to 65,000 pounds (29,000 kg) in space. In the mid-1990s, the arm control system was redesigned to increase the payload capability to 586,000 pounds (266,000 kg) 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. NASA, therefore, developed a model of the arm for use at its training facility within the Johnson Space Center located in Houston, Texas. The Canadarm can also retrieve, repair and deploy satellites, provide a mobile extension ladder for extravehicular activity crew members for work stations or foot restraints, and be used as an inspection aid to allow the flight crew members to view the orbiter's or payload's surfaces through a television camera on the Canadarm. The basic Canadarm configuration consists of a manipulator arm, a Canadarm display, and a control panel, including rotational and translational hand controllers at the orbiter aft flight deck flight crew station, and a manipulator controller interface unit that interfaces with the orbiter computer. One crew member operates the Canadarm from the aft flight deck control station, and a second crew member usually assists with television camera operations. This allows the Canadarm operator to view Canadarm operations through the aft flight deck payload and overhead windows and through the closed-circuit television monitors at the aft flight deck station. The Canadarm is outfitted with an explosive-based mechanism to allow the arm to be jettisoned. This safety system would have allowed the Orbiter's payload bay doors to be closed in the event that the arm failed in an extended position and was not able to be retracted. The Canadarm is 15.2 metres (50 ft) long and 38 centimetres (15 in) diameter with six degrees of freedom. It weighs 410 kilograms (900 lb) by itself, and 450 kilograms (990 lb) 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. The end effector is the unit at the end of the wrist that grapples the payload's grapple fixture. The two lightweight boom segments are called the upper and lower arms. The upper boom connects the shoulder and elbow joints, and the lower boom connects the elbow and wrist joints.
== Service history ==
A simulated Canadarm installed on the Space Shuttle Enterprise 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 Space Shuttle Columbia's STS-2 mission. Its first operational use was on STS-3 to deploy and manoeuvre the Plasma Diagnostics Package. Canadarm subsequently flew on more than 90 missions with all five orbiters. Since the installation of the Canadarm2 on the International Space Station (ISS), the two arms have been used to hand over segments of the station for assembly from the orbiter's Canadarm to the Canadarm2; the use of both elements in tandem has earned the nickname of "Canadian Handshake" in the media.
=== 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 Discovery's 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). However, Endeavour's Canadarm is now on permanent display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. 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.
== In popular media == 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 Dextre – Robotic arm on ISS European Robotic Arm – Robotic arm installed on the ISS Russian Segment Kibo (ISS module) § Remote Manipulator System Mobile Servicing System – Robotic system on board the International Space Station Strela – Russian crane on the International Space Station
== References ==
== External links ==
NASA:RMS: PAYLOAD DEPLOYMENT AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM Archived 31 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine Canadian Space Agency : Canadarm CBC Digital Archives - Canadarm - A Technology Star