A STORRM is brewing aboard space shuttle Endeavour. The next generation in docking and rendezvous technology will make its debut early next year during the STS-134 mission, scheduled to be the final space shuttle flight. Officially called the Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation, the "STORRM" system was installed Aug. 10 inside Endeavour's payload bay, where it will fly as a Development Test Objective, or DTO in other words, an in-flight experiment. Designed for use on the Orion capsule, STORRM includes the Visual Navigation Sensor, or VNS, along with an advanced docking camera. The VNS relies on a light-based remote sensing technology called lidar to provide extremely accurate data while the docking camera offers high-resolution docking imagery.
When the STORRM's two hardware components the Sensor Enclosure Assembly (SEA) and Avionics Enclosure Assembly (AEA)were lowered into place in Endeavour's payload bay, an unusually large crowd of enthusiastic agency and contractor representatives were on hand to observe and celebrate the milestone. "I'd have to say this is the most people I've ever seen come for a payload installation," said NASA's Vehicle Manager for Endeavour, Shelley Ford, as she surveyed a crowd of about 30 people vying for the best views among the myriad of access platforms surrounding the orbiter. "It's exciting that Endeavour will be contributing to the technology development for our future space program."
STORRM was developed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, which is responsible for program management, technology evaluation, flight test objectives, operational concepts, contract management and data post-processing. Engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia were in charge of engineering management, design and build of the avionics, STORRM software application and reflective elements. They are also responsible for the integration, testing and certification of these components. Industry partners Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Ball Aerospace Technologies Corp. handled the design, build and testing of the VNS and docking camera.
When the STORRM's two hardware components the Sensor Enclosure Assembly (SEA) and Avionics Enclosure Assembly (AEA)were lowered into place in Endeavour's payload bay, an unusually large crowd of enthusiastic agency and contractor representatives were on hand to observe and celebrate the milestone. "I'd have to say this is the most people I've ever seen come for a payload installation," said NASA's Vehicle Manager for Endeavour, Shelley Ford, as she surveyed a crowd of about 30 people vying for the best views among the myriad of access platforms surrounding the orbiter. "It's exciting that Endeavour will be contributing to the technology development for our future space program."
STORRM was developed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, which is responsible for program management, technology evaluation, flight test objectives, operational concepts, contract management and data post-processing. Engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia were in charge of engineering management, design and build of the avionics, STORRM software application and reflective elements. They are also responsible for the integration, testing and certification of these components. Industry partners Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Ball Aerospace Technologies Corp. handled the design, build and testing of the VNS and docking camera.
