Imagine that you’re a surgeon getting ready to perform complicated reconstructive surgery on a patient’s eyeball. Now imagine that the patient was over 23,000 miles away from you and their eyeball for some strange reason moves around in circles while you are performing that very complicated surgery. Crazy right? Well, that’s what many people thought about the idea of NASA sending out Robotic Refueling machines into orbit. These RRMs refueled and  repaired new and older satellites in order to advance technology in space.

Phase one discovery of RRMs required engineers to calculate, test, rebundle and retest for accuracy, and longevity of robotic advancements. After a few years of tests, phase one was released. Slowly, engineers worked through the test satellites and needless to say,  they succeeded and now have moved on to phase two!

Now, before we go any further, many of you are probably wondering why is this such a big deal? It is a big deal because once a satellite is launched into space, that is pretty much the end of it. Of course it is monitored, its data is collected, and for a while, it provides everything NASA needs to keep track of the world outside of our own. But what if the satellite incurs damage, runs out of fuel, or malfunctions? It is pretty tough to pin-point the exact location of a satellite as it is orbiting around the earth, no less launching the necessary equipment to repair it.

RRM was designed just for this reason, to send robots out into space to refuel and repair satellites. Going beyond what humans can do physically is definitely a huge leap in the process for the development of future technology. Later on in the year, NASA plans to execute phase two of the RRM. They have already launched RRM hardware to a few satellites and will test it against the operation system of those satellites.

If successful, what could this mean? It could mean that Star Trek is just beginning! With the successful completion of phase two, there could be technology advancements that we only thought possible with special movie effects. Sending out RRMs to keep maintaining satellites decreases metal waste. Instead of leaving an unusable satellite out to the forces of Mother Solar System, it can now be repaired and reused, allowing NASA to focus more on expanding the exploration of the universe beyond where our satellites break down and gain more knowledge of life pass Earth. Now, there will be more opportunities for human-kind and machine to work together.  Also, this improves technology for Communication satellite services like television broadcasts, weather reports, cell phone connections, and much more.  Imagine walking down the street and seeing a television ad broadcasting in midair. How about always having a cell phone signal no matter where you go? So long dropped calls, and ‘no signal’ signs! How about knowing what the weather will be months before you plan for that special summer getaway?

The benefits behind the successful completion of phase two are extremely contributional and can welcome a world of technology that we never thought could be possible. Now imagine again, being the surgeon 23,000 miles away from the patient with the constantly moving eyeball. Does it seem so crazy after all?