Ground Test and Technical Rehearsal of Astrobee

NASA decided to transfer Astrobee operations to a private contractor in May 2025. In September 2025, Arkisys Inc. was selected by NASA as the commercial sustainer, and JAXA subsequently began technical coordination for the Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC). Following both ground testing and a technical rehearsal aboard the International Space Station (ISS), preparations for the on-orbit final competition are now complete. Here is an overview of the process.

On December 12, 2025 (Japan Standard Time), a ground test was conducted at the flat floor facility of the University of Southern California, a partner organization of Arkisys. The facility provides an environment that simulates microgravity. JAXA participated remotely, installing the demonstration program (Android Application Package: APK) developed by JAXA onto Astrobee and verifying its operation.
The purpose of the test was to operate the ground model of Astrobee under simulated weightlessness and confirm the overall feasibility of the competition. Although only two-dimensional movement can be replicated on Earth—unlike the full three-dimensional motion possible in space—the test successfully confirmed that Astrobee’s functions remain robust and ready for the upcoming on-orbit final competition.

On December 16, 2025 (Japan Standard Time), JAXA astronaut YUI Kimiya, JAXA flight controllers, Kibo-RPC staff, and the Arkisys team jointly conducted a technical rehearsal aboard the ISS. The objectives were to verify that the actual on-orbit Astrobee unit was functioning properly, ensure smooth communication among all ground teams, and confirm that the Kibo-RPC competition could be executed without issues.
The demonstration APK prepared by JAXA was installed on Astrobee, which successfully flew inside the Kibo module. Its flight was monitored by Int-Ball2, JAXA’s companion robot to Astrobee.