Milking Solution
Astronaut
Introduction
Designed for cows and farmers
Transform your farm with the new milestone in milking. The Lely Astronaut robotic milking system is an evolution that incorporates everything we learned in the past 25 years since we pioneered automatic milking. We took the needs of cows and our customers into consideration to create an innovative cow- and farmer-friendly milking system.
Astronaut USP's
Cow comfort
Achieve optimal comfort for your cows by letting them decide when to eat, drink, relax, or be milked. The hybrid arm, I-flow concept, teat detection system and the spacious design of the cow box contribute to a healthier cow and increase visiting behaviour.
Ease of use
The Astronaut is designed for cows and people, its user-friendly interface makes automatic milking easy to understand for everybody. The optional automatic milkfilter takes convenience to a next level. Stay in total control over your herd with cutting-edge management system, Lely Horizon: decision support at your fingertips.
Reliability
Three decades of experience and farmers insights helped us to improve the Astronaut's reliability in every new edition. This can be seen in its robustness but experienced through the new operating system. This provides reliability through resilience, adaptability and protection.
Lower cost of ownership
The Lely Astronaut is built to realize a significant lower cost per kilogram of milk produced. Thanks to smart, state of the art technique and the unique hybrid robot arm it helps you to produce high-quality milk at a low cost price.
Explore the
Astronaut
I-Flow
Hybrid arm
Cleaning with brushes
Consistent attaching
Intuitive user interface
Build on experience
Milking solution
Astronaut
This automatic milking system is designed with the cow in mind, offering the most natural way to milk. The I-flow concept, hybrid arm, and teat detection system contribute to smooth and quick milking for all cows in the herd, resulting in a new milestone in cow comfort.
Features
Build on experience
The Lely Astronaut robotic milking system is designed around with the cow, offering the most natural way to milk. The I-flow concept, hybrid arm, and teat detection system contribute to smooth and quick milking for all cows in the herd, resulting in a new milestone in cow comfort.
Cows dislike obstacles, which is why the I-flow concept uses a straight route with unhindered entrance, leading cows into, and out of, the milking robot. As a result, cows are able to reach the Lely Astronaut with ease.
The hybrid arm combines fast and accurate electrical-driven movements with the softness and power of air-driven pneumatics for stress-free milking. Pneumatic components protect the electrical system by balancing the heavy load of the arm and buffering cow kicks. The hybrid arm is silent, allowing cows to experience more rest during milking.
A three-layer laser system delivers the most accurate teat position information and stores the data after each milking. The system’s 3D camera helps determine the cow’s position in the box, allowing the brushes and cups to find the teats quickly and with ease.
The healthier the udders, the better the milk. That's why the Lely Astronaut is equipped with a unique brush cleaning system designed to remove encrusted dirt and manure around the teats and underside of the udders, simultaneously stimulating milk let-down. After cleaning the teats, the brushes are thoroughly disinfected to help minimize the risk of cross-contamination.
Our customers
Testimonials
The Lely Astronaut is a game changer. Here's what some real farmers have to say.
Kenyon, Minnesota
Alan & Andy Meyer
Two Lely Astronauts, one Lely Juno
The amount of time required to get the milking done is reduced to zero. You also get a lot of technology. When you move to automation, you literally change your lifestyle.
Cecil, Wisconsin
Ryan Horsens
12 Lely Astronauts, two Lely Junos
It’s been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. We’re averaging about 113lbs of energy corrected milk per cow and we only expect that to go up.
Athens, Wisconsin
David Trimner
30 Lely Astronaut, three Lely Junos, one Lely Cosmix
The start-up was a very smooth process. Our service provider gave us someone who was experienced with start-ups and basically helped us walk through it all. We pre-trained the cows and they really got used to it quickly.
MPR statistics
Lely farmers score better!*
Every year, figures show that Dutch cows milked by a Lely Astronaut produce, perform better than cows milked by other systems.
Higher milk yield with milking robots
Since 2015, we have seen that Dutch cows milked by a Lely Astronaut produce more milk on average than cows milked in other systems. We expect this trend will continue, making the difference in milk production greater than ever. Additionally, Lely Astronaut users combine this with a better cell count and excellent fertility characteristics. View all the details in the graphs on the right.
*) The results are based on CRV data from the Netherlands (an independent party that develops information products for cattle farmers to better manage their businesses). Comparison of Lely with an aggregate of other systems. Individual results may differ based on make of other systems and relevant country. No rights can be derived from these results.
Higher avg. annual milk revenue per cow Higher average yearly milk production
Higher average fat production Higher average lifetime production
Higher average protein production Lower somatic cell count
The process
Start-up support: every step of the way
Before
Before the Astronaut comes into operation, we help you prepare your farm for automatic milking. This includes discussions on cow health, feeding, daily routines, Free Cow Traffic, and Partial Mixed Ratio feeding. We also provide training on robot operation and the associated management system.
01
During
When the Astronaut is installed, the robot is extensively checked. Together we go through the new routines and group the cows. Once every detail is accurate, milking begins. During the initial milking, we provide intensive support.
02
After
Once everything is up and running the start-up period ends and we begin with the next step to further optimise your farm according to your preferences. Together we will define which services will support you best.
03
Media slider Astronaut pictures
Related solutions
Astronaut works well with
The Lely Astronaut robotic milking system is designed with a dedicated focus on optimum well‑being for both you and your herd. With this in mind, we offer a range of related products to complete your automated milking setup.
Resources
Download the latest brochure
Milking
Producing high-quality milk requires time and care. It requires making choices that fit in with you and your goals. Our solutions for automatic milking help you make the right decisions to attain those goals.