The Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), or Canadarm (Canadarm 1), was a mechanical arm used on the Space Shuttle to maneuver a payload from the payload bay of the orbiter to its deployment position and then release it. It can also grapple a free-flying payload, maneuver it to the payload bay of the orbiter and berth it in the orbiter. It was first used on the second Space Shuttle mission STS-2, which was launched November 13, 1981. After the destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-107, NASA began to always pair the Canadarm with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), a boom containing instruments to inspect the exterior of the shuttle for damage to the thermal protection system.

The Canadarm is 15.2 metres (50 ft 3 in) long and 38 centimetres (15 inches) in diameter and has six degrees of freedom. It weighs 410 kg (905 pounds) by itself, and 450 kg (994 lb) as part of the total system. The Canadarm has six joints that correspond roughly to the joints of the human arm, with shoulder yaw and pitch joints; an elbow pitch joint; and wrist pitch, yaw, and roll joints. The end effector is the unit at the end of the wrist that actually grabs, or grapples, the payload. The two lightweight boom segments are called the upper and lower arms. The upper boom connects the shoulder and elbow joints, and the lower boom connects the elbow and wrist joints. The Canadarm attaches to the orbiter payload bay longeron at the shoulder. Power and data connections are located at the shoulder MPM.