Project Title:

Self-Contained, Deployable, Serpentine Truss for Prelaunch Access of Orbiter Payloads

05.08-3200
NAS10-11659
Self-Contained, Deployable, Serpentine Truss for
	Prelaunch Access of Orbiter Payloads
Foster-Miller, Inc.
	350 Second Avenue
	Waltham, MA 02154-1196
		Ken Pasch
(617-890-3200)

Abstract:

	The self-contained, deployable, serpentine truss (SCDST), which would be deployed
from a transportable tube, is an articulated, modular truss structure and control
system capable of snake-like curvature and snaking along a desired trajectory. The
system is controlled by an algorithm of linear computational complexity and is specifically
designed to allow inspection and light tasks to be performed on payloads in the cargo
bay of the space shuttle orbiter while on the launch pad. The proposed SCDST is a
cost, time, and safety alternative to the present procedure in which technicians
erect temporary scaffolding.

Potential Commercial Application:

Potential Commercial Applications: Applications of the SCDST system are inspection
and light tasks performed in cramped or uninhabitable quarters such as heat exchangers,
boilers, storage vessels, etc.