A German camera-equipped spacecraft called the Inspektor, has been delivered to the Russian Mir 1 space station aboard the Progress M36 tanker.
It will fly, remotely controlled by a cosmonaut inside the Mir, to conduct close inspection of various components using a camera.
The 70kg Inspektor, which is designed to operate as far as 100m from the Mir, was scheduled for launch to the station before the accident in June, when a Progress tanker collided with the Mir's Spektr module.
The craft was to conduct a series of trials before a decision is made on whether to use it on the International Space Station (ISS). Since the damage to the Spektr, the Inspektor will be used to take a close look at the source of the leak which depressurised the module.
The departing Atlantis STS86 Space Shuttle mission returned with some high-resolution photographs, including a close look at the Spektr's damaged solar panel (see picture), which also revealed what is thought to be the source of the puncture which resulted in the depressurisation. Repairs may be attempted and the damaged panel removed during spacewalks in November.
The Daimler-Benz Aerospace-built Inspektor is equipped with a high-power video camera and is designed to reach inaccessible locations around the environment of space stations, monitor rendezvous and docking manouevres of larger supply vessels, assist astronauts during spacewalks and even conduct tasks normally carried out by spacewalking astronauts.
A similar US spacecraft will be tested in November during the STS87/Columbia mission. The NASA-built, 16kg AERCAM/ Sprint camera-craft will be deployed during a spacewalk and will be tested during a 30min sortie, to demonstrate much closer inspections of spacecraft, also with a view to being used on the ISS. The craft will be operated remotely from the Shuttle flightdeck by pilot Steve Lindsay, a member of the six-person crew.
Source: Flight International
