Spacewalkers Give Dextre Arms

7-hour spacewalk brings handyman robot closer to completion
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 16, 2008 7:31 AM CDT
Spacewalkers Give Dextre Arms
This photo made from NASA TV shows an astronaut outside the space station as he works on putting together Dextre.    (AP Photo/NASA)

Dextre the space robot now has arms. Astronauts attached them in an overnight spacewalk outside the International Space Station, the second of three that will be needed to bring the $209 million robot fully to life, the Houston Chronicle reports. On Monday, astronauts will give Dextre a tool belt, lights, and cameras, and he'll be ready to go.

"That was pretty impressive," said one of the astronauts working on the 12-foot contraption. "It's really eerie out here, with this white humanoid-looking thing below me—Mr. Roboto." Dextre is so large he must live outside the space station. When he's fully functioning, he will help with construction on the station and cut down on the need for future spacewalks. (More Dextre stories.)

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