# Astrobee at International Space Station, Earth Orbit: deployment

Canonical ID: `a6cdee7b-98f3-4bc1-b53b-de0bc04e1d06`

Three Astrobee robots (Bumble, Honey, Queen) deployed aboard the International Space Station since 2019. The cube-shaped free-flying robots assist astronauts with research tasks, inventory management, and maintenance. Astrobee operates under supervisory control of ground operators or ISS crew. Confirmed by NASA and ISS National Lab.

## Key facts

- **Operator:** NASA
- **Fleet size:** 3 units (Bumble, Honey, Queen)
- **Purpose:** Astronaut assistance, research, inventory

**Trust tier:** Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verified

_Last updated: 2026-07-14_

- **Slug:** astrobee-iss-orbit
- **Status:** operational
- **Model:** [Astrobee](/models/astrobee.md) (id: `83679589-eaf6-4714-9fb2-c26a4368d974`)
- **Company:** [NASA Ames Research Center](/companies/nasa-ames.md) (id: `1bbb0ddf-e5ec-4736-a823-ed0625bc8be1`)
- **Location:** [International Space Station, Earth Orbit](/locations/iss-earth-orbit.md) (id: `53085d25-92b8-411a-bd6c-372d354e8ed2`)
- **First seen:** 2019-04-19T00:00:00.000Z

## Verification log (0, append-only)

_No verifications recorded._

## Sources (2)

1. **Astrobee - NASA** · https://www.nasa.gov/astrobee/ · 2019-04-19
2. **Free-Flying Robots in Space** · https://issnationallab.org/upward/upward71-free-flying-robots-astrobee/ · 2024-06-01

## Common questions

### What is the Astrobee deployment at International Space Station, Earth Orbit?

Astrobee, built by NASA Ames Research Center, is recorded as a deployment at International Space Station, Earth Orbit on the DEPLOY registry. NASA Ames Research Center operates the deployment directly.

### Who operates Astrobee at International Space Station, Earth Orbit?

NASA Ames Research Center, the manufacturer of Astrobee, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.

### When did the Astrobee deployment at International Space Station, Earth Orbit go live?

The deployment is recorded as starting April 19, 2019 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.

### Have there been incidents at the Astrobee deployment at International Space Station, Earth Orbit?

No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.


_API: GET /v1/robots/a6cdee7b-98f3-4bc1-b53b-de0bc04e1d06 · feeds: GET /v1/feeds?deploymentId=a6cdee7b-98f3-4bc1-b53b-de0bc04e1d06 · canonical URL: /deployments/astrobee-iss-orbit_