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| sci-tech > space > story page |  | |
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In Brief:
September 10, 1999 NASA developing mini-robot to zip around spacecraft(CNN) -- NASA scientists are developing a softball-sized robot that would zoom around spacecraft to monitor environmental conditions and snap images for video conferencing and wireless connections. The Personal Satellite Assistant will have sensors for oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gas levels in spacecraft, as well as for bacteria, air temperature and air pressure. "We're developing an intelligent robot that essentially can serve as another set of eyes, ears and nose for the crew and ground support personnel," said Yuri Gawdiak, a researcher heading up the project at the NASA Ames Research Center. "Our research objective is to test intelligent autonomous systems that use advanced sensors and monitoring technologies for supporting current and future spacecraft operations." Researchers completed a key test of the robot's components earlier this month. The plan is to launch a PSA in about two years aboard a space shuttle and in about three years aboard the International Space Station, Gawdiak said. The robot is designed to maneuver inside the cramped confines of the space shuttle's flight deck and International Space Station modules. British space industry to mount 'Space Pavilion'WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The British Space Industry will be prominently showcased as part of the inaugural International Space Business Assembly (ISBA) in a "Space Pavilion," event organizers said this week. The International Space Business Assembly, billed as the first ever business-to-business gathering of the $100 billion global space industry, will take place November 2-4 at the Reagan International Trade Center in Washington. The pavilion, organized under the auspices of the British National Space Center, will house exhibits by C-MAC Microcircuits, PDS Engineering, Science Systems (Space) Limited, Polyflex, Vega Space Systems Engineering, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Proneta, IGG Component Technology Limited, Surrey Satellite Technology, Satellite Observing Systems, PERA Consulting Limited, Marham Space Insurance and Matra Marconi Space. The 1,400 square foot pavilion will be inside the Reagan Center, site of all ISBA sessions, special events and exhibits. Want more? Go to previous In Brief
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