When the space shuttle system became operational in the 1980s, access to space began to take on a whole new outlook. Space was about to become a place to carry out work as well as to explore. A key element in America's newest human-rated space vehicle was the ability to provide access to space on a number of commercial fronts, including in-orbit satellite and spacecraft servicing and repair.

One of the workhorses onboard the shuttle is the robot arm called the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). The RMS is capable of placing large items in or removing them from the shuttle's cargo bay. This 15-meter (50-foot) robot arm was used for a number of satellite repair and retrieval missions during the shuttle's first twenty years of operations.

During shuttle mission 41-C in April 1984, the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was left in orbit, deployed by...