Ranger Test Operations at the NRL - May, 2004 - UMd Space Systems Laboratory

	Ranger Test Operations at the Naval Research Lab May, 2004
Space Systems Laboratory - Department of Aerospace Engineering - University of Maryland

In May, 2004, we were offered an opportunity to integrate the Ranger dexterous arms into the rendezvous and docking simulator at the Naval Research Laboratory for some joint tests, which simulate a spacecraft flying up to a satellite, grappling the berthing bars on the aft bulkhead, then performing an electronics box changeout. This test had a very short turn-around time to make it happen, and the Ranger team deserves a great deal of credit for making it happen.

Date	Event	Sample Photo
May 7, 2004	Checking out the NRL Spacecraft Motion Simulator
May 18-19, 2004	Setting up; integrating the Ranger arms onto the FANUC motion system
May 20, 2004	It works! Trying out some spacecraft grapple operations
May 24, 2004	Checking out robotic operations with simulated orbital lighting
May 27-28, 2004	The final demo day, and it's time to head home...