to proceed with the TALISMAN joint prototype, Option 3b was chosen because of its good stiffness and  spreader synchronization characteristics as well as its very good packaging capability. The packaging capability is important because the next phase of TALISMAN development will be focusing on demonstrating: efficient packaging; deployment, including the spreader, from a fully packaged state; and, full 360-degree articulation of the joint. A prototype section of the Option 3b has been fabricated and  undergone limited operational testing in the laboratory, as shown in Figure 7. The prototype section has  two aluminum truss links connected by a single-degree-of-freedom hinge joint. Each link is 3.66-m (144inches) long and has a 7.62 x 15.24 cm (3 x 6 inch) cross-section and the total height of the spreader is   1 m (39.4 inches) above the joint rotation axis. Articulation of the prototype has been demonstrated from  0 degrees (straight out position) through 180 degrees (where the outer link is folded adjacent to the inner link). Example TALISMAN Applications and Sizing Results Two distinct embodiments of the TALISMAN are emerging: A Long Reach (LR) variant and a Compactly  Stowable (CS) variant. LR applications would be focused on achieving long reach and maintaining high  stiffness with less emphasis on high dexterity and the ability to stow and deploy multiple times. CSapplications would be focused on achieving high dexterity, a large reach envelope, applying and reactinglarge tip forces, being able to deploy and restow multiple times, and packaging into a limited volume (for launch or within a spacecraft storage location). 300-meter LR Application A Space Act Agreement was signed between Langley Research Center and Altius Space Machines to  investigate and develop applications for a LR TALISMAN (LRT) design. As a result of this collaboration,  Altius Space Machines investigated a mission concept for enabling inexpensive and rapid commercial  payload delivery/recovery from the International Space Station (ISS). The mission concept requires that ISS payloads be captured and released beyond a strictly controlled 200-m radius keep-out sphere. Altius  baselined a LRT having a reach of 300 meters, assuming a capture distance at 250 meters from the ISS. Due to the lack of additional mission definition at this time, the LRT was designed to achieve a  reasonable and robust operational capability (dexterity for example) coupled with efficient structural  performance. Due to the extreme length of the manipulator, passive tension stiffening is used to augment  the stiffening provided by the tendon-actuation architecture. In this case, the tension-stiffened manipulator was designed to have 10 times the stiffness of the bare central truss. Features of the LRT are illustrated  in Figure 8 and design/performance specifications are given in Table 3.  Asteroid Capture System CS Application A current mission option being investigated within NASA is to capture an asteroid and return it to cislunar  space where it would be examined by an astronaut crew. The original mission concept was limited to  capturing a free-floating asteroid, assumed to be either an approximately 7-meter diameter sphere, or a  5 meter x 10 meter ellipsoid. The associated capture/enclosure concept used a series of deployable links,  tensioning cables and inflatable envelopes to accomplish the mission. In order to improve mission versatility and increase the probability of mission success, a CS TALISMAN (CST) based concept for an  asteroid retrieval mechanism was developed with the goal of accommodating many possible different  mission scenarios (including retrieving a boulder from a large asteroid body) while also enabling and  supporting astronaut Extra-Vehicular Activity asteroid evaluation operations in cislunar space. By  leveraging TALISMAN technology currently being developed by NASA it might also be possible to reducesystem cost and development schedule. The complete asteroid material capture and enclosure system would consist of two major subsystems; a  set of three 4-link TALISMANs attached to the retrieval spacecraft bus and a simple lightweight bag to  enclose the asteroid and prevent loose particles from escaping as shown in Figure 9. The capture system is assumed to integrate with a solar electric retrieval stage at a 3-meter-diameter circular interface. The four links are folded for launch so that the packaged TALISMAN easily fits into the baseline launch vehicle (Atlas V) medium or long payload shroud. The three CSTs are attached along the outside edge of  410