Kall Morris Inc. (KMI) recently demonstrated their REACCH capture technology onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The demo launched to the ISS in early November and has undergone two operations so far, providing a great outlook for the development of the fully operational end effector. These demonstrations will take KMI and the space community as a whole to the next level of space maneuvering and sustainability and greatly impact the future of space exploration.
REACCH, following initial development heritage with DARPA, NASA, JPL, and the University of Southern California, is a KMI-exclusive multi-armed, articulated robotic device for the capture and release of space objects. Demonstration of REACCH’s microgravity performance aboard the ISS, though ongoing, has already showcased the technology’s capabilities with repeated captures of a free-floating target in a full microgravity environment.
Some of the partners who contributed to the first, in-space demo of REACCH include: ISS National Lab, NASA Astrobee Team, Nanoracks, USC, NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Johnson Space Center, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, KMI Advisor & Retired NASA Astronaut Dr. Anna Fisher, and geCKo Materials.
More ISS operations are scheduled in the coming months that will build on the insights already gained from the initial demos.
Video of the demo can be seen on the ISS Instagram page as posted on December 10, 2024. Astrobee with KMI’s REACCH.
“This demonstration showcases not only the capabilities of REACCH, but the capabilities of the KMI team as well.” said Austin Morris, KMI Co-Founder & Director of Engineering. “I am immensely proud of the quality of technology demonstration displayed, and extremely grateful to the many partners who helped bring this project to fruition.”
