Sunday, October 14, 2012

SRMS Elbow and End Effector CCTV Cameras

Now that I've got a basic model of the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), I've added the End Effector and Elbow CCTV Cameras to SRMS and compared them to photos taken from various STS missions.

After researching for more reference data, I now know that the CCTV Camera on the Elbow Joint appears to be at a different angle to what I expected it to be. Currently, I've modeled it so that it's in-line with the SRMS. However, this is wrong and it appears to be at an odd angle, leaning into the Payload Bay when the SRMS is deployed. When comparing the 3D model to the below photograph, I'm now assuming that this angle is around a 30° lean towards the Payload Bay. Once again 'Best Guess'.

The End Effector CCTV Camera, like the Elbow CCTV Camera, I thought was in line with the SRMS, but this too appears to be at an angle. Looking at the picture above, it appears to be level to the Payload bay when the SRMS is deployed. I'm assuming from a pre-1981 Space Shuttle Program document that this deployed angle for the SRMS is leaning 15° away from the Payload Bay. When the SRMS is stowed, it's leaning towards the Payload Bay by 15°. However, I'd love to get this confirmed.

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