Int ball

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Int-Ball in action on the ISS

The JEM Internal Ball Camera (JEM = Japanese Experiment Module), or Int-Ball for short , is a camera-equipped drone from the Japanese space agency JAXA , which is used in the Kibō module of the International Space Station . It was brought to the ISS on board a Dragon spaceship as part of the SpaceX CRS- 11 mission . The launch took place on June 3, 2017 at 21:07 UTC with a Falcon 9 rocket.

Technical specifications

Int-Ball is spherical with a diameter of 15 cm and weighs 1 kg. 12 propellers are installed for locomotion , using components from conventional drones . The housing and structural elements were produced using 3D printing . The position control takes place with three reaction wheels and several position sensors ( acceleration and rotation rate sensors ) in MEMS technology . The reaction wheels are driven by brushless DC motors. The camera is mounted between two glowing blue “eyes” so that the astronauts can easily see the direction in which the drone is looking. Int-Ball can move autonomously or be remotely controlled by ground staff. For this purpose, navigation cameras are installed on the side, which record special three-dimensional target markings. With this information Int-Ball can determine its position and orientation in the module. Recorded images and videos can be processed there in real time and forwarded to the crew.

Intended use

With Int-Ball it should be possible to take pictures from any place and any angle. This should also relieve the astronauts, who currently spend around 10% of their working hours on photography. Since the work steps of the crew can be observed from their perspective with the drone, the yield of the experiments carried out should increase in cooperation with ground personnel. Int-Ball is still in the test phase.

The successor to the prototype should move around the station fully autonomously and independently document the astronauts' focus of action. In this way, the documentation effort for the crew could be reduced to zero in the long term. In phase three of the project, the range of tasks is to be significantly expanded. In addition to inventories, the drone could also create potentially dangerous reports for the crew, for example in the event of an accident or damage.

Web links

Technical description and mission objectives

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Michael Zhang: This Cute Camera Drone Now Lives on the International Space Station. In: PetaPixel. July 17, 2017, accessed July 18, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Thuy Ong: Japan's space camera drone on the ISS is a floating ball of cuteness. In: The Verge . July 17, 2017, accessed July 18, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b c JAXA: First disclosure of images taken by the JEM Kibo's internal drone "Int-Ball". July 14, 2017, accessed July 18, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Miniaturized Attitude Control Sensors and Actuators in an All-in-one Module | JAXA ｜ Research and Development Directirate. Retrieved July 18, 2017 .
  5. ↑ JAXA | 宇宙 航空 研究 開 発 機構: 超 小型 三軸 姿勢 制 御 モ ジ ュ ー ル ～ 「き ぼ う」 」船 内 ド ロ ー ン (Int-ball) へ の 応 用 〜. July 14, 2017, accessed on July 22, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Wayback Machine. April 29, 2020, accessed April 29, 2020 .