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Okay, the arm is out for the first time... working great... it's a remarkable flying machine
and it's doing exactly as we hoped and expected..."
Commander Joe Engle and Pilot Richard Truly of Mission STS-2, after the first
deployment of Canadarm out of the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Columbia, on November
13, 1981
With this historic statement, the shuttle Canadarm began a long service as the
first-ever robotic manipulator system designed for specific use in the harsh
environment of space. Having demonstrated its reliability, usefulness and versatility
through 63 flawless missions to date, the robotic manipulator arm with the Canada word
mark prominently displayed on its upper arm boom is truly celebrated as one of
Canada's crowning technological achievements in space, along with the Alouette
scientific satellite (1962), the CTS/Hermes experimental communications satellite
(1976), the RADARSAT 1 Earth observation satellite (1995) and the Mobile Servicing
System, of which the first element, a 17.2-metre long manipulator arm called Canadarm2,
was installed on the International Space Station in April 2001.
The tasks of the officially-designated Shuttle Remote Manipulator System are many and
varied: over the years, the Canadarm has deployed satellites into their proper orbit and
retrieved malfunctioning ones for repair. Beginning with Mission STS-88 in December 1998,
the arm has been used in 11 Space Station Assembly missions to date, both to install new
elements on the station and to support space walks by space construction workers. It has
performed the expected, such as successfully loosening a jammed solar array panel or using
its elbow and wrist joint cameras as flying « eye-in-the-sky » for visual inspection of
the orbiter and payload . It has also performed unusual tasks, such as knocking ice off
the shuttle's waste water dumping vents. The arm has been used for public relations
activities, as its two cameras, or IMAX cameras attached to its lower boom brought the
experience of space to the general public.
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