Space activities such as asteroid capture and on-orbit construction of ultra-large spacecraft will significantly increase the operating distance and torque requirements of the space manipulator. In this article, we propose a new cable-driven joint module for space robots based on the idea of a cable-stayed bridge structure, and deeply investigate its driving properties. First, we give the structural design for the cable drive joint module. Using a clever combination of drive cables, special hinges, and spreader construction, the designed joint module allows $\pm 180^{\circ }$ rotation and can achieve high torque and high stiffness properties at a low quality cost. Second, the kinematics model, statics, and stiffness model of the joint module are established. On this basis, the kinematic, Jacobi, torque, and stiffness characteristics of the joint are discussed in detail. Finally, we built an experimental system of the cable-driven joint module, and tested the repeatability, torque, and stiffness of the joint module. The results show the unique characteristics of the mechanism and verify the correctness of the theoretical model and characteristic analysis.

The space cable-driven continuous manipulator (SCCM) has a slender structure, ultra-high degrees of freedom, and a low mass, which make it suitable for equipment inspection and maintenance operations in an unstructured and limited space environment. In this paper, the SCCM including the cable network and plenty of joint links was deeply modeled. Firstly, the mapping relationship between the cable-driving space, joint space, and task space of the SCCM was studied, and the complete kinematic relationship of the SCCM was established. Secondly, the stiffness components of the SCCM are discussed, and the stiffness modeling method of each part is given. Finally, the Cartesian space equivalent stiffness model of the end was established. Then, a dynamic co-modeling method of Matlab + Adams is proposed, which greatly improved the modeling efficiency while ensuring the modeling accuracy. Finally, based on the stiffness model, the end stiffness characteristics of a specific configuration were analyzed, and the influence of the cable tension on the stiffness and frequency of the manipulator was analyzed. Based on the dynamic co-modeling, the task trajectory dynamics’ simulation analysis and space slit crossing experiment were carried out, which verified that the designed SCCM can meet the needs of slit crossing.