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Once fully assembled, Dextre will stand 12 feet and have a mass of 3,400 pounds. Its shoulder span is nearly 8 feet. A third spacewalk, on Monday night, will provide Dextre with a tool holster. That ought to do it. The Canadian-built Dextre -- which cost more than $200 million and was flown up on Endeavour -- is designed to assist spacewalking astronauts. Its name, in fact, is short for dexterous. The hope is that the robot eventually will take over some of the more punishing chores, like lugging around big replacement parts. To guard against a robotic mutiny, Mission Control jokingly told the astronauts in their wakeup mail Saturday that some new flight rules were being instituted. No. 1, "Dextre may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm," Mission Control wrote. No. 2, "Dextre must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law." As for Dextre's belated wakeup, officials were reluctant to cast blame. The agency and its main contractor were responsible for designing the cable that failed to relay power to the robot, via its transport bed. Three more spacewalks are planned during Endeavour's nearly two-week visit to the space station for a total of five. That will be the most spacewalks ever performed during a joint shuttle-station flight. Related Links: |
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