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University of Maryland — DYMAFLEX Satellite Servicing Manipulator

Location: College Park, Maryland
Type: Academia (UMD Space Systems Laboratory)
FO Projects: 94143
Outcome Category: Research → Design Heritage (4 generations: DymaFlight → TRAVELS → VERTEX/BioBot/KRITTER)
Confidence: Confirmed (FO→design heritage chain, now lunar-focused)

Summary

UMD's Space Systems Laboratory (SSL), led by PI David Akin, used FO parabolic flights to validate a free-flying satellite servicing manipulator in microgravity. DYMAFLEX (DYnamic MAnipulation FLight EXperiment) is a 4-DOF high-performance manipulator mounted on a free-floating base, designed to investigate coupled dynamics between a manipulator and its host spacecraft — a fundamental problem for any on-orbit servicing mission.

FO provided the critical 0-g test environment. While the manipulator was designed to work in 1-g, microgravity validation at TRL 6 confirmed the dynamics and control models for the intended operational environment. The technology has since evolved into DymaFlight, a smaller, modular next-generation arm that feeds into the TRAVELS lunar rover concept (2022 NASA BIG Idea Competition finalist).

Timeline: - 2014–2017: FO parabolic flight campaign (94143, TRL 4→6) - 2017–2018: AFRL University Nanosat Program (UNP) — DYMAFLEX nanosat development - 2018–2019: Dymaflight reaches TRL 6 via two RockSat-X suborbital flights (7-DOF, 1.1m reach, YPRPRPR kinematic config, conforms to NASA 89N/27Nm satellite servicing requirements) - ~2020–2022: DymaFlight continued development — smaller form factor, modular, scalable design - 2022: AIAA paper on DymaFlight (DOI: 10.2514/6.2022-4364) - 2022: TRAVELS lunar rover concept — NASA BIG Idea Competition finalist; each limb is a modified DYMAFLEX arm - 2022+: Student Kate McBryan won 2nd place at AIAA YPSE for DymaFlight presentation

TechPort Record: 94143

  • Title: DYMAFLEX: DYnamic MAnipulation FLight EXperiment
  • Program: Flight Opportunities (FO)
  • Period: 2014-03-20 to 2017-03-20
  • TRL: 4 → 6
  • Lead Org: University of Maryland-College Park
  • PI: David L. Akin
  • TX: TX04.3.1: Dexterous Manipulation
  • Library items: 2 (papers: "Miniature Orbital Dexterous Servicing System" and "Small Dexterous Space Manipulators: Technology Development and Mission Applications")
  • View Count: 634

Downstream Impact

Design Heritage: DymaFlight

DymaFlight is a next-generation version of the DYMAFLEX manipulator, designed to be: - Smaller — fits areas with small volumes, works on/with smaller spacecraft hosts - Modular — scalable architecture for different mission types - Versatile — applications include smallsat satellite servicing, internal/external habitat maintenance, sample collection

DymaFlight was validated through neutral buoyancy testing at UMD's SSL facility.

TRAVELS Lunar Rover (2022)

TRAVELS (Terrapin Rover Allows Versatile Exploration of the Lunar Surface) is a robotic architecture for exploring hostile lunar terrain: - Wheel-on-limb mobility with tethered anchor for rappelling into caves/craters - Each limb is a modified DYMAFLEX manipulator: 2 rear (5-DOF wheel positioning) + 2 front (7-DOF with extending capability) - 2022 NASA BIG Idea Competition finalist - Graduate/undergraduate student team at UMD

Evolution: VERTEX, BioBot, KRITTER (2023–2026)

The SSL's focus has shifted from satellite servicing toward lunar surface systems, building on the DYMAFLEX manipulator architecture:

  • VERTEX — Earth-analogue lunar rover designed for Artemis astronaut EVA assistance. Active project, presented at 2025 AIAA YPSE conference ("Translational and Rotational Hand Controllers for VERTEX"). Co-designed by Charlie Hanner and Nicolas Bolatto; described as SSL's most involved current project.
  • BioBot — Robotic arm for astronaut science task assistance, mounted on VERTEX rover. Multiple 2025 AIAA YPSE presentations: "Kinematics and Control of the BioBot Rover System" and "Autonomous Astronaut Detection for BioBot Rover System." Won runner-up in graduate judging category.
  • KRITTER — Novel wheel-on-limb robot for rover suspension control training. Published January 2026 in AIAA SciTech 2026 Forum. Newest derivative of the TRAVELS limb architecture.
  • VERTEX/BioBot field tests at NASA Goddard — System upgrades to swing arms, suspension, BioBot arm, new software and electronics.

This pivot from satellite servicing to lunar surface robotics aligns with NASA's post-OSAM-1 strategic direction. The DYMAFLEX manipulator DNA persists across all these systems.

Context: OSAM-1 Cancellation

NASA's OSAM-1 satellite servicing mission was cancelled in March 2024 after costs grew from ~$700M to >$2B. SSL has effectively responded by pivoting the DYMAFLEX heritage toward lunar applications (VERTEX, BioBot, KRITTER) rather than continuing to target on-orbit servicing. Commercial servicing is growing (Northrop Grumman MEV, Astroscale ADRAS-J), but SSL's near-term focus is now lunar.

David Akin — PI Heritage

David Akin founded UMD's SSL and has been developing space robotic systems for 30+ years: - Ranger program (1992+): 4-armed satellite servicing robot for NASA - SCAMP: Space Construction and Maintenance Platform - Neutral buoyancy facility at UMD for underwater space simulation - Known for "Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design" — widely cited in aerospace engineering

USASpending

No USASpending contracts found matching "University of Maryland" + satellite servicing/manipulator keywords. The FO flight campaign was funded through the FO program directly. UMD SSL funding likely comes through grants and cooperative agreements not captured in keyword-specific USASpending queries.

Assessment

Archetype: Deep Academic Partnership (Archetype 16) — FO provided operational environment validation for a long-running academic robotics program.

Signal strength: Medium-High. DYMAFLEX demonstrates FO's value for validating fundamental dynamics models that feed into future mission concepts. The design heritage chain is now 4 generations deep: DYMAFLEX → DymaFlight → TRAVELS → VERTEX/BioBot/KRITTER. No commercial deployment, but the SSL's lunar pivot (VERTEX, BioBot) is actively funded and produced 3+ AIAA papers in 2025-2026. The heritage is compounding.

What FO provided: Microgravity was essential — you cannot replicate coupled manipulator-spacecraft dynamics on the ground. FO parabolic flights gave enough 0-g time to validate models and confirm TRL 6. RockSat-X (2018-2019) later achieved TRL 7 for the Dyma-series actuator — a single-DOF actuator was actually flown in space. This is a clean example of FO's "validation service" archetype feeding a long-running academic program.

Open threads: - Is VERTEX/BioBot funded by NASA beyond BIG Idea? The Goddard field tests suggest active support. - KRITTER (SciTech 2026) — is this heading toward FO parabolic flights too? - David Akin retirement/succession planning for SSL (40+ year career)

Sources

  • TechPort 94143 (live API, 2026-04-07)
  • UMD SSL: ssl.umd.edu (main site, checked 2026-04-07)
  • UMD SSL: ssl.umd.edu/research/travels
  • UMD SSL: ssl.umd.edu/research/nanosat (DymaFlight/DYMAFLEX page)
  • Charlie Hanner portfolio: charliehanner.com — VERTEX, TRAVELS, RockSat-X details
  • McBryan et al., "DYMAFLIGHT: Dynamic Manipulator Flight Experiment," AIAA 2022 (DOI: 10.2514/6.2022-4364)
  • KRITTER paper, AIAA SciTech 2026 Forum (January 2026)
  • AIAA YPSE 2025: VERTEX hand controllers, BioBot kinematics/control, BioBot astronaut detection
  • ResearchGate: David L. Akin publication history
  • SpaceNews: "NASA reaffirms decision to cancel OSAM-1" (2024)

Last updated: Session 93, 2026-04-07 — Refreshed from Session 61. TechPort [94143] unchanged (lastUpdated 2026-01-22). No new publications, funding, or project developments found. VERTEX/BioBot/KRITTER status stable. View count 636 (+2 since Session 61).