Mobile remote manipulator system for a tetrahedral truss

The mobile remote manipulator system (MRMS) was initially developed for transit about the trusses of the delta space station; however, it can be utilized just as easily for transit about the trusses of the dual keel station. The MRMS is comprised of a mobile platform having a rail system formed of transversely disposed T-shaped tracks, which engage with guide pins located at the nodes of the trusses. The guide pins form a grid and the tracks are so designed as to permit travel in either of two orthogonal directions. The present invention provides a near-uniform traversing velocity with minimal dynamic loading on the system. Pivoting changers move the platform from one face to another

Double swivel toggle release

A pyrotechnic actuated structural release device is disclosed which is mechanically two fault tolerant for release. The device comprises a fastener plate and fastener body each attachable to one of a pair of structures to be joined. The fastener plate and the fastener body are fastened by a dual swivel toggle member. The toggle member is supported at one end on the fastener plate and mounted for universal pivotal movement thereon. Its other end is received in a central opening in the fastener body, and has a universally mounted retainer ring member. The toggle member is restrained by three retractable latching pins symmetrically disposed in equiangular spacing about the axis of the toggle member and positionable in latching engagement with the retainer ring member on the toggle member. Each pin is retractable by a pyrotechnic charge, the expanding gases of which are applied to a pressure receiving face on the latch pins to effect retraction from the ring member. While retraction of all three pins releases the ring member, the fastener is mechanically two fault tolerant since the failure of any single one or pair of the latch pins to retract results in an asymmetrical loading on the ring member and its dual pivotal movement ensures a release

Load limiting energy absorbing lightweight debris catcher

In the representative embodiment of the invention disclosed, a load limiting, energy absorbing net is arranged to overlay a normally-covered vent opening in the rear bulkhead of the space orbiter vehicle. Spatially-disposed flexible retainer straps are extended from the net and respectively secured to bulkhead brackets spaced around the vent opening. The intermediate portions of the straps are doubled over and stitched together in a pattern enabling the doubled-over portions to progressively separate at a predicable load designed to be well below the tensile capability of the straps as the stitches are successively torn apart by the forces imposed on the retainer members whenever the cover plate is explosively separated from the bulkhead and propelled into the net. By arranging these stitches to be successively torn away at a load below the strap strength in response to forces acting on the retainers that are less than the combined strength of the retainers, this tearing action serves as a predictable compact energy absorber for safely halting the cover plate as the retainers are extended as the net is deployed. The invention further includes a block of an energy-absorbing material positioned in the net for receiving loose debris produced by the explosive release of the cover plate

A jukebox full of stories

Many of us who are older grew up eating at diners that featured a music-playing machine called a "jukebox."1 The jukebox contained stacks of vinyl records and a mechanical arm that would activate the record you chose to play. Push a button on the front to make your choice and then stand back and marvel at the way the arm moved to select and play your choice. Imagine now how this same technology might work with an archive of Oral History recordings. Next, imagine adding photographs, maps, videos, and text to accompany each recording. Then, consider the Internet and almost instantaneous search, find, and play abilities for hundreds of hours of recordings and associated materials. This is how Project Jukebox functions today. But the story behind Project Jukebox is not just about technology and what it allows us to do; it also involves a search for ways to preserve as much as possible of the experience of the actual oral events (that is, what you would have experienced by being present when the stories were told). We hope, therefore, that by detailing the history of Project Jukebox we can engender a larger discussion of the opportunities and limitations of technology. To this end, we begin with a description of the Project Jukebox collections and then describe how the program evolved as we sought ways to encourage comparative analysis of topics and themes, as well as ways to preserve how narrators construct and deliver narrative.Not

The political legacy of the Reagan years

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