Mars Science Laboratory successfully launches, with 2 Honeybee Robotics tools onboard

NASA's MSL Rover left Earth on Saturday, November 26th, and began its eight-and-a-half month journey to Mars. The rover Curiosity has 10 scientific instruments, which will allow it to sample and analyze soil and rock samples. Honeybee Robotics designed and built the Dust Removal Tool, at the end of the rover arm, which will brush dust off rock surfaces to allow for closer inspection. Inside the rover's Sample Acquisition at Mars (SAM) suite of instruments, Honeybee's Sample Manipulate System (SMS) will accept samples from Curiosity's end-of-arm drill and deliver them to the various instruments for analysis.

 

Honeybee Robotics was a proud sponsor of the 2011 Lunabotics lunar mining competition at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Jack Craft of Honeybee also served as a judge. This international student competition pits university teams against each other in a contest to design, build, and operate a robotic system for mining lunar soil simulant. Honeybee would like to congratulate all of the teams on their outstanding effort.

Honeybee Robotics has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Astrobotic Technology Inc. of Pittsburgh, PA to develop three payload elements for its rover and another three payload elements for the lander. The payloads include a 50cm drill, jet trencher, regolith excavator, heat flow probe, corner cube reflector, and soil samplers. Astrobotic is planning a mission to the Moon as early as December 2013 as part of the Google Lunar X Prize. In addition to an 80 kg rover, the Astrobotic spacecraft will carry up to 110 kg of payload for space agencies and researchers, potentially including the Honeybee technologies. The spacecraft will be launched on Space X Falcon 9.

Lander Payloads

Rover Payloads

 

April 2011's Inc Magazine talks about our development of small control moment gyroscopes -- devices that position the new generation of smaller, more affordable satellites. Read the full story here.

Honeybee Robotics is now on Twitter! Follow us to keep up with the latest news at Honeybee_Ltd.

Space.com's Clara Moskowitz talked to Honeybee Robotics President Kiel Davis about the company's role in NASA's new climate satellite, Glory. Read more on Space.com's website...

 

Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation today announced it has promoted Kiel Davis to President. As a fourteen-year veteran of the aerospace engineering sector, including several years as the company’s Vice President of Engineering, Davis will guide Honeybee as it expands its services for the aerospace sector and grows to include new locations including offices in California, Texas and Colorado. Davis will succeed Chris Chapman, a co-founder of the company who will now assume Vice-Chairman and Chief Financial Officer responsibilities.

Davis brings extensive experience developing electromechanical systems for the aerospace industry, from early concept to deployment. As Honeybee’s Vice President of Engineering, Davis was responsible for a number of mission areas, including project management, business development, mechanical and electrical design, control systems design, software development, systems implementation and product assurance.

“It is an exciting period of growth at Honeybee, and I look forward to continuing serving NASA and our commercial customers in the aerospace sector,” said Davis. “Honeybee has built a well-deserved reputation as one of the world’s top suppliers of innovated technology for robotic and spacecraft systems. I plan to ensure we continue delivering high-performance systems that contribute to the success of space missions.”

 While Vice President of Engineering, Davis led a number of the company’s highest-profile programs, including the Mars Phoenix Lander’s Icy Sample Acquisition Device and the Mars Science Laboratory’s Surface Removal Tool. His previous work as a Systems Engineer and Project Manager at Honeybee equips him with both the technical and project management expertise associated with complex systems development programs. Davis holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Rochester and an M.S. in Systems Engineering (Robotics & Control Systems focus) from Polytechnic University.

“Kiel has been part of Honeybee’s greatest successes to date, and in tackling complex programs he has impressed us with his command of engineering and his customer engagement,” said Stephen Gorevan, Chairman and co-founder of Honeybee Robotics. “Kiel’s vision and drive will undoubtedly take Honeybee to new heights in the coming years, and I am looking forward to working alongside him as we forge the future of our company.”

In addition to Davis, the Honeybee management team is rounded out by Chief Engineer Ron Hayes, who has over 25 years of experience in developing electromechanical technology for robotic and aerospace systems, by Vice President Kris Zacny and Vice President Erik Mumm.

Honeybee Robotics Vice President Kris Zacny talks to the Pasadena Star-News about opening shop close to JPL.