Watch Caltech's ASTRA robotic system autonomously assemble a 1.4-meter-wide (4.6-foot) reflector antenna using composite fiber tubes and aluminum joints! This ground-based demonstration, filmed in the laboratory of Caltech researcher Sergio Pellegrino, shows how the Autonomous In-Space Tensioned Reflector Assembly (ASTRA) system builds structures without human assistance. Developed by Caltech researchers with funding from DARPA, ASTRA recently demonstrated autonomous structural assembly in space for the first time, paving the way for robots to construct large antennas and other structures in orbit. Credit: Caltech / DARPA