To Samus's right.
Hydraulic lifts are a Galactic Federation invention, seen once in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It appears in the center of Repair Bay A as a room feature. Scanning it explains that the lifts are built to support Federation fighter ships of various models while they undergo repair and maintenance. Fleet Mechanics working on repairs utilize a platform nearby to do so.
When Samus enters Repair Bay A, a short cutscene plays in which debris falls in front of the Hand Scanner for the cargo-bay doors out of the room, blocking it. Once it returns to gameplay, these lifts descend using a piston system. They are seen holding up a Stiletto-Class Fighter that has received moderate hull damage. At the time that Samus scans the fighter, repairs on it have not yet been completed. Samus can and must jump on a platform above the Stiletto fighter, in order to reach the Missile Launcher. The Stiletto fighter's damage ostensibly occurred before the Space Pirate invasion of the G.F.S. Olympus, as the invasion had begun mere minutes before Samus would have arrived at Repair Bay A.
The hydraulic lifts are the only example of hydraulics in the Metroid series to date.
Official data[]
Scan (Repair Bay A)[]
"Hydraulic lifts built to support GF fighters of various models for repairs and maintenance."