Robotic Refueling Mission

The Robotic Refueling Mission was developed by the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

[2] It was planned to demonstrate the technology and tools to refuel satellites in orbit by robotic means.

[2][7][8] The experiment suite included a number of propellant valves, nozzles and seals similar to those used on a wide variety of commercial and U.S. government satellites, plus a series of four prototype tools that could be attached to the distal end of the Dextre robotic arm.

Each tool was a prototype of a device that could be used by future satellite servicing missions to refuel spacecraft in orbit.

[10] The Phase 2 hardware complement consists of:[10] In February 2014 the ground-based 'Remote Robotic Oxidizer Transfer Test' (RROxiTT) transferred nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) via a standard satellite-fueling valve at the satellite fuelling facility, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), using a robot controlled remotely from the Goddard Space Flight Centre, 800 miles (1,300 km) away in Greenbelt, Maryland.

[12] On March 26, 2015, The RRM On-orbit Transfer Cage was loaded into the Kibo airlock and picked up by the JEM Robotic Arm who handed it off to Dextre for installation on the main module.