HoustonThe ISS’s 58-foot Canadarm2 stopped moving after a routine maneuver.
Without it, NASA loses its only way to berth cargo ships that can’t dock alone.
Cygnus and Japan’s HTV-X vehicles need the 2-ton arm to grab and berth them, while Dragon and Starliner dock on their own.
NASA says it’s still unclear whether the failure is a software glitch or a hardware fault.
SpaceX plans to retire Dragon, the last vehicle the arm can berth, within 4 years.
How each outlet framed it
- Ars Technica
- emphasizes Canadarm2 exceeded its 15-year design life by a decade-plus; titanium arm operates as inchworm using identical ends
Sources: Ars Technica