NASA’s VIPIR Tool on Orbit

Like a snake burrowing through a nest, NASA’s VIPIR tool sends its video borescope through an obstacle course on the International Space Station as part of the May 2015 Robotic Refueling Mission operations. Designed and built by the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, VIPIR – the Visual Inspection Poseable Invertebrate Robot – is a robotic, multi–capability inspection tool designed to deliver near and midrange inspection capabilities in space. It was tested on or