NASA's Fly Foundational Robots Mission: Commercial Robotic Arm Opens New Phase of Space Infrastructure
NASA and its industry partners are preparing the first demonstration of a commercial robotic arm in low Earth orbit as part of the Fly Foundational Robots (FFR) mission, currently scheduled for launch in late 2027. It is a key technological step for future in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing operations – an area considered the foundation for a sustained human presence on the Moon, Mars, and in the wider Solar System.
The FFR mission is part of the In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) portfolio of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. Unlike some earlier, extremely complex projects, this demonstrator relies consciously on commercial components and agile companies, with a targeted goal: to show that sophisticated robotic operations can be performed reliably, scalably, and at a lower cost than before.
Commercial robotic arm from Pasadena as an “orbit worker”
At the heart of the mission is a robotic arm supplied by a small but highly specialized American company, Motiv Space Systems from Pasadena, California. The system was developed through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III program, meaning it relies on technology that has already undergone multiple rounds of verification and demonstration.
The robotic arm is engineered for a range of demanding tasks in weightlessness and partial gravity conditions: from finely tuned grasping and manipulation of various tools, through handling sensitive equipment, to “walking” along the spacecraft structure using special attachment points. Such a design allows the same platform to be used for a wide spectrum of future missions – from satellite inspection and repair to the assembly of larger structures like solar arrays or communication antennas directly in orbit.
Motiv's arm will be integrated onto a spacecraft supplied by Astro Digital from Littleton, Colorado. It will serve as a “flying laboratory” – an orbital testbed where it will be examined how the robot reacts to real conditions in space, how it withstands temperature and radiation extremes, and how reliably it operates in a long-term environment without servicing from Earth.
The orbital test is organized through NASA's Flight Opportunities program, by which the Space Technology Mission Directorate ensures access to flights for smaller companies and research teams for the early demonstration of innovative solutions. This accelerates the transition from laboratory prototype to technology ready for installation in operational missions.
The role of NASA centers: from Washington to Greenbelt and Edwards Field
The Fly Foundational Robots mission will be managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, one of the key centers for the development of space technologies and robotics. Goddard has been the bearer of projects in the field of satellite servicing for decades, including the now-cancelled OSAM-1 mission, and the experience of that work has been translated into the new generation of approaches represented by FFR.
The ISAM program funding the mission is coordinated from NASA Headquarters in Washington, a city that is, alongside being the political center of the USA, also an important hotspot for space policy and industry. For visitors to American science museums and space policy congresses in the capital, an additional practical dimension is provided by accommodation offers in Washington near key institutions, where representatives of agencies, industry, and the scientific community often meet.
Operational testing within the Flight Opportunities program will be conducted by NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, which has a long history of testing experimental aircraft and new technologies in flight. Armstrong will monitor the performance of Motiv's robotic arm, analyze data, and compare them with expectations defined before launch.
From OSAM-1 to FFR: how NASA redefined the space servicing strategy
Fly Foundational Robots comes at a moment when NASA is reshaping the approach to space servicing following the cancellation of the OSAM-1 project in 2024. OSAM-1 was supposed to demonstrate the complex refueling of the Landsat 7 satellite and the assembly of a large antenna in orbit, but the mission was terminated due to a combination of technical, cost, and schedule challenges.
Despite that move, the Agency has not given up on the goals – on the contrary, official documentation emphasizes that NASA remains a “key advocate for development activities in the field of ISAM technologies” and seeks more flexible, modular, and commercially sustainable ways to implement the same concepts with lower risk. FFR fits precisely into such a strategy: it promotes the use of commercial equipment, shares costs and risks with industry partners, and concentrates on a clearly defined but significant demonstration in orbit.
Such a pivot also fits into the broader trend of the space industry, where an increasing number of private companies are developing their own solutions for servicing, inspection, and deorbiting of satellites, while government agencies strive to set standards, certify technologies, and ensure interoperability. FFR is an important step here because it defines a reference point – a real test in orbit – against which other systems and approaches will be compared.
What the demonstration in orbit will look like
Although precise operational scenarios are still undergoing elaboration, NASA has announced several key groups of tasks that Motiv's robotic arm will perform in orbit. Among them are precise grasping and manipulation of standardized objects, replacement of “pseudo-modules” that mimic satellite parts, autonomous switching between different attachment points on the spacecraft, and the use of different tools without constant human intervention.
Part of the operations will be fully autonomous, guided by algorithms on the spacecraft itself, while others will be performed via teleoperation from control centers on Earth, likely from Goddard and other NASA facilities. This tests the entire chain – from software and sensors on the arm, through communication delays and limitations, to interfaces in control rooms and procedures that engineers and operators must use.
Special attention will be paid to safety: the robotic arm must prove that it can work in immediate proximity to sensitive equipment without the risk of collision, impact, or uncontrolled movements. Every maneuver will first pass through simulations and “digital twins” of the system, an approach NASA already uses intensively on other robotic platforms in orbit.
“Guest roboticists”: a new opportunity for American teams
One of the more interesting aspects of FFR is the concept of “guest roboticists”. NASA plans to open the possibility for research teams and companies from the United States to send their own scenarios, algorithms, and experimental tasks that could be performed on Motiv's platform during the mission. The Agency will be the first guest operator, but is already looking for other interested partners from the academic community and industry.
Such a collaboration model is similar to the one NASA has already developed on the International Space Station (ISS) through Astrobee robots – small, cube-shaped, free-flying units to which scientists and students from various universities can send their own algorithms for navigation, inspection, or object manipulation. These systems have already been used to test artificial intelligence that independently plans paths through the narrow corridors of the ISS, thereby reducing the need for constant human control.
Similarly, FFR can become an “orbital laboratory” for researching new approaches to robotics in space, including the application of advanced machine learning algorithms, cooperative work of a larger number of robots, or hybrid operations in which robots take over dangerous and routine tasks, while humans intervene only in critical moments.
From Canadarm to FFR: continuity and a leap in capabilities
NASA and its international partners have been using robotic arms in space for decades. The Canadian system Canadarm2 and the robot Dextre on the ISS have become key tools for station assembly, capturing cargo spacecraft, and performing complex repairs without spacewalks. These platforms already replace much of what astronauts in spacesuits once did, with lower risk and lower cost.
The new step that FFR brings is the transition from individual, specifically designed robotic systems to more generic, commercial arms that can be adapted to different missions and partners. While Canadarm2 and Dextre were built primarily for the ISS, Motiv's arm is constructed as a modular platform that in the future can be adopted by a commercial satellite operator, NASA, another government agency, or an international partner.
This shift is also important for future missions within the Artemis program, in which the US and partners plan to establish a more permanent infrastructure on and around the Moon. Robotic arms similar to the one FFR will test could one day assemble elements of the lunar orbital station, install instruments on the surface, build and maintain solar farms, or prepare landing pads.
A new type of “worker” for the space economy
One of NASA's and the industry's main arguments for why FFR is important is the development of the future space economy. If robots in orbit can service satellites, refuel them, replace modules, and gradually upgrade infrastructure, it will no longer be necessary to launch a new satellite every time an old one reaches the end of its life. This means less space debris, lower costs, and greater flexibility for operators.
The functions that Motiv's arm will demonstrate in the FFR mission can potentially be transferred to other sectors as well. In the construction industry, advanced robotic arms could automate dangerous jobs at heights or in contaminated areas; in medicine, precise robots already help surgeons today, and experiences from space can further improve the safety and reliability of such systems. In transportation, autonomous robotic systems are already part of logistics chains, and technology developed for FFR can improve the work of warehouse robots or inspection drones.
For economies investing in space technology, including the European Union, such missions create new market niches – from component manufacturers, through software companies, to providers of specialized data analysis and robotic system integration services. In this context, political and business delegations visiting Washington to agree on space cooperation often combine official meetings with professional conferences, so accommodation capacities in Washington are also adapted to space industry visitors.
Safety, standards, and regulation: challenges facing robots in orbit
The progress brought by FFR is not only technological; it also opens a series of questions related to the safety and regulation of space activities. Robotic arms that can approach other people's satellites or move near important communication and navigation systems must respect international agreements, standards of behavior in orbit, and guidelines for avoiding space debris.
NASA points out that the demonstration will be performed on its own platform, with clearly defined safety zones and procedures, but in the long term, it is expected that such technologies will become part of a broader “system of systems” in which multiple countries and private operators will share common protocols. The success of FFR could serve as a reference case for the development of future international standards in the field of space servicing and robotics.
A special topic is also cybersecurity: how to ensure that robotic arms are not compromised by malicious intrusions, that commands can be encrypted and reliably transmitted over long distances, and that systems can autonomously switch to a safe mode if they detect an anomaly.
The bigger picture: from flying robots on the ISS to robots on the Moon and Mars
Parallel to FFR, NASA continues to develop other robotic platforms. On the ISS, Astrobee robots have been testing new movement algorithms and autonomous task planning for years, and recently they were guided for the first time by an advanced artificial intelligence system developed at Stanford University, which enables the calculation of safe paths significantly faster than classical methods.
Experiences from these systems, together with the legacy of Canadarm and Dextre, are now spilling over into FFR, which represents a turning point: a transition from the framework of one station or one mission towards a wider ecosystem of robots that will one day operate on lunar soil, in orbits around Mars, or in a network of commercial space stations. In some scenarios, robots will be the first to “land” at future base locations, prepare the terrain, set up antennas and solars, and conduct basic geological and engineering analyses before humans arrive there.
In this context, the motivation behind the Fly Foundational Robots mission visibly transcends short-term goals. NASA wants to verify whether the new generation of commercial robotic systems can turn into a standard tool for future research and commercial ventures – a tool that, if proven successful, will be as common as solar panels, communication antennas, or navigation systems on satellites are today.
In Washington, where key decisions on the budget and priorities of the US space program are made, discussions about missions like FFR are part of a broader competition for what the space economy of the 2030s will look like. Whether there will be investment in flexible robotic systems and infrastructure determines how quickly the vision of a permanent human presence on the Moon and the path to Mars will be realized – and how much of that new, orbital economy other countries, including European actors and private investors who increasingly travel to the US, will manage to capture, for whom quality accommodation in Washington during space conferences and negotiations is becoming increasingly important.
Sources:
- NASA – official release on the Fly Foundational Robots mission and the Motiv Space Systems commercial robotic arm (link)
- SpaceDaily / Spaceflight Now – articles on testing a commercial robotic arm in orbit and the planned launch in late 2027 (link)
- ExecutiveGov – overview of the collaboration between NASA, Motiv Space Systems, and Astro Digital within the FFR mission (link)
- NASA – official information on the cancellation of the OSAM-1 mission and continued development of ISAM technologies (link)
- Canadian Space Agency / NASA – data on Canadarm2 and Dextre robotic systems on the ISS (link), (link)
- NASA / ISS National Lab / media reports – current applications of Astrobee robots and recent experiments with artificial intelligence on the ISS (link), (link), (link)
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