In pursuit of the overarching goal of establishing a robust European In-Space Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) capability, which is essential for the future of space exploration and a sustainable space economy, the EU-RISE project team has achieved the following key outcomes:
1. Future Space Ecosystem Market Analysis: a comprehensive assessment of the ISAM market opportunities was conducted, identifying necessary capabilities and defining reference mission scenarios and requirements for future space ecosystem activities.
2. Development of an Open-Source Strategy: to further support future ISAM activities, the project drafted a sustainable, secure, and commercially viable strategy for future space exploration, leveraging open-source for sustainability, interoperability, and collaboration. This included analyzing business models, licensing, cost optimization, and best practices for an efficient “Open-source Strategy for the Future Space Ecosystem”
3. Maturation of Space Robotics Enabling Technologies: key European space robotic technologies for ISAM were matured and developed, including the Versatile In-Space and Planetary Arm (VISPA) (encompassing both software and hardware), the Standard Interface for Robotic Manipulation (SIROM), the Robotic System Control (RSC) framework for flight software orchestration, and the Ground Console for system monitoring and control.
4. Development of an End-to-End Laboratory Demonstrator: the matured/developed robotic software and hardware elements were integrated into an E2E laboratory demonstrator, effectively showcasing the capabilities of the integrated robotic system.
5. Verification and Validation of Integrated Robotics System: a verification and validation campaign was executed on the integrated robotic system within a realistic mission scenario, substantially advancing the viability of autonomous ISAM operations.
