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Due to the difficulty of traditional spacecraft to meet the requirements of the multi-mission, the modular reconfigurable space robot is proposed which combines the modular reconfigurable concept with the design of the space robot. Contrary to the traditional spacecraft with only one fixed configuration, the modular reconfigurable space robot has rich configurations. By docking/undocking operation of the interfaces between modules, the configuration of the modular reconfigurable space robot is transformed from the initial configuration to the target configuration. The connecting interface is the key mechanism for docking/undocking operation. While ensuring the function and effect of the connecting interface, the space occupancy should be reduced, and the degree of freedom should be minimized. In view of this, a single degree of freedom coupling interface is designed in this paper. The interface mechanism is compact and driven by a micro-DC-motor to achieve the coupling linear motion and rotational motion. The results of the dynamic analysis show that the required driving force of the interface is small, and the motion of the docking/undocking process is stable. It verifies the feasibility of the mechanical design. The principal prototype with the self-locking in power off verifies the effectiveness of the coupling interface. The coupling interfaces can reliably dock and undock.
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