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Dextre Lives! Space Robot Gets Power

Posted Mar 15, 08 1:46 PM CDT in Science & Health 

(Newser) – Dextre's finally getting some juice. Astronauts aboard the international space station solved a glitch last night and got power flowing to their partially built robot, the AP reports. Now they can go ahead with a spacewalk tonight to finish assembling it. “There was obviously some real concern over the last day or two for getting that powered up,” said one official.

During tonight's spacewalk, the second of a planned five, astronauts will connect Dextre’s arms and torso. When it's finished, Dextre will help with future space station construction and cut down on the number of spacewalks needed. The shuttle Endeavor delivered the $200 million robot to the station disassembled, along with the first part of a Japanese space lab. Astronauts entered that room for the first time today.

Source Associated Press

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In this image from NASA TV, astronauts lift the Japanese laboratory from the space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay early Friday morning March 14, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Canadian Space Agency released this illustration of the space robot Dextre. The agency fixed a glitch with the robot, and astronauts will attach his arms to his torso tonight.   (AP Photo/Canadian Space Agency via THE CANADIAN PRESS)
This illustration provided by The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) shows the inner workings of the robot "Dextre."   (AP Photo/Canadian Space Agency)
This image provided by NASA shows the space shuttle Endeavour backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space Thursday March 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/NASA)
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Japan • NASA • Canada • International Space Station • Discovery space shuttle • spacewalk • Dextre • Kibo • Endeavor space shuttle


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