At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, AR technology and robotics are revolutionizing the assembly of the Rome Space Telescope, improving precision and efficiency and providing significant savings in time and money during construction.

• Augmented reality tools helped technicians improve accuracy and save time during the conformance testing of the Rome Space Telescope as it is being assembled at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
• In one case, translating Roman’s digital model of the power plant into the actual structure of the telescope showed that the planned design would not fit into existing wiring, a discovery that helped avoid having to rebuild any components.
• The Goddard R&D team working on this AR project suggests that wider adoption in the future could potentially save weeks of construction time and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Innovative methods for assembling spacecraft

Armed with state-of-the-art measuring equipment, augmented reality headsets and QR codes, technicians virtually checked some of the Rome Space Telescope’s structures before building them or moving them between facilities at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“We were able to place sensors, mounting interfaces, and other spacecraft equipment in 3D space faster and more accurately than previous methods,” said NASA Goddard engineer Ron Glenn. “He can be a great asset to any program and program.”

Projecting digital models into the real world allows technicians to align parts and look for potential obstacles between them. The AR projection screen also lets you precisely position flight equipment for assembly to within a thousandth of an inch.

Augmented reality improvements for spacecraft

Using NASA’s internal research and development program, Glenn said his team continues to find new ways to improve the way NASA builds spacecraft with AR technology, in a project that helped Roman build NASA Goddard.

Glenn said the team accomplished much more than they initially set out to prove. “The main goal of the project was to use augmented reality to develop improved assembly solutions and see if we could reduce expensive manufacturing time,” he said. “We found the team was capable of much more.”

Increasing efficiency with AR and robotics

For example, engineers used a robotic arm for precise measurements and 3D laser scanning to map Roman’s complex wiring harness and volume within the spacecraft’s structure.

“By manipulating the virtual model of Roman’s engine within this framework, we identified places where it interfered with the existing wiring,” said team engineer Eric Bruhn. “Tuning the propulsion system prior to construction allowed the mission to avoid costly and lengthy delays.”

Roman’s power plant was successfully integrated earlier this year.

Bruhn added that their work saves many engineers and technicians days of work, given the time it takes to design, build, move, redesign and renovate.

“We found many additional benefits from these technology combinations,” said team engineer Aaron Sanford. “Partners elsewhere can collaborate directly from the technician’s perspective. Using QR codes to store metadata and transfer documents adds another level of efficiency, providing quick access to relevant information at your fingertips. “The development of AR techniques for reverse engineering and improved structures opens up many possibilities, such as training and documentation.”

Future programs and cost savings

Technologies allow 3D designs of parts and assemblies to be shared or transmitted virtually from remote locations. It also enables the passage of moving and assembled structures and helps take accurate measurements to compare parts with their designs after they are produced.

Adding a precision laser tracker could also eliminate the need to create complex physical templates to ensure components are precisely placed in precise locations and orientations, according to Sanford. Even details like whether a technician can physically reach inside the structure to turn a bolt or replace a part can be worked out in augmented reality before construction.

During construction, an engineer wearing a headset can reference important information, such as the tightening characteristics of individual bolts, using a hand gesture. In fact, an engineer can achieve this without having to stop and look for information on another device or in paper documents.

In the future, the team hopes to help integrate various components, perform inspections, and document the final build. “It’s a cultural shift,” Sanford said. “It takes time for these new tools to be adopted.”

“This will help us quickly produce spacecraft and instruments, saving weeks and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Glenn said. “This allows us to return resources to the agency to develop new missions.”

This project is part of NASA’s Fiscal Year 2024 Innovation Fund Center portfolio at Goddard. The Center’s Innovation Fund, within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Office, fosters and encourages creativity and innovation at NASA centers while meeting the technological needs of NASA and the nation.