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Explain How The SRMS Changed The Capabilities Of The United States Space Program

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The creation of the SRMS changed the capabilities of the United States space program. Before the system, everything which needed to be captured required risky docking maneuvers involving highly trained pilots. With the advent of the system, the Space Shuttle only required close proximity and allowed the SRMS to perform the delicate movements needed to capture and release objects near the Space Shuttle.
The entire system was innovative for space capabilities, but it also changed robotics on Earth at the same time. The first thing the SRMS brought to the space program was the space robotics which did not exist before it was launched20. The proof of concept set the standard for all future robotics equipment in space. In addition, the earlier design choices to engineer the system like the human arm in control were part of a paradigm shift in robotics which has permeated the area robotics21.
In addition to changing technology, the creation of the SRMS had a major impact on relations between the United States and Canada in terms of space. First, the deal to develop the system included the United States providing preferential access to Canada to help build its space program22. The preferential treatment opened access to space unlike any other non-space faring nation on Earth. In …show more content…

As NASA and its international partners were designing the ISS, it was only natural to include a similar system on the new space station. As it happens, they decided to put a newer version of the same system, called Canadarm 2, onto it with upgraded capabilities being bigger, more maneuverable, and able to traverse the station among other things23. Since the inclusion of the improved version, the system has again proven invaluable providing a method to capture docking spacecraft, move station components around during and after construction even meeting up with its predecessor during visits by the Space

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