Canada's Dextre Robot To Be Launched Today

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Canadian space robot 'Dextre' a high-tech marvel

Updated Mon. Mar. 10 2008 10:35 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

When finished, Dextre the robot will be the latest Canadian-built addition to the International Space Station.

"Dextre is the second arm for the station built by Canada," astronaut Steve Swanson told Canada AM on Monday from Cape Canaveral.

"Its task is to do jobs that are more of a fine, finesse manipulator-type activity. Usually we would do spacewalks to change out components that have broken on the station. But now with Dextre, we can do that from inside and use Dextre's arms to do things that a human could do."

Dextre is short for Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator.

Tuesday's early-morning launch of the shuttle Endeavour will take pieces of Dextre, along with seven astronauts, up to the station. The launch is considered a "go" at this point. Provided there's good weather, it will lift off at 2:28 a.m.

A team of space-walking astronauts will assemble Dextre's seven pieces, which weigh about 1,560 kilograms, and attach the completed robot to the outside of the space station.

Dextre -- 3.7 metres high and 2.4 metres wide -- has two multi-jointed arms attached to its torso, a tool holder and a camera/light unit.

"Each arm has seven joints," Swanson said, adding the body can rotate. "It is a complicated arm to operate, but of course it gives you the ability to do all sorts of things with it."

Assembling Dextre will take three space walks of the five scheduled for the 16-day mission, but Swanson said it will take another two months of testing to make the robot fully operational.

Dextre is "is the third and final component of the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) developed by Canada for the International Space Station," the Canadian Space Agency writes on its website.

"It complements the mobile base and the robotic arm Canadarm2 already installed and operating on the Station."

NASA has estimated that Dextre will eliminate about a dozen spacewalks per year, saving them leaving the station to replace batteries and wires.

"You can think of Mr. Dextre as an extra hand", Endeavour astronaut Greg Johnson said on Monday.

"They'll be safer inside, free from the harsh environment -- the temperatures, radiation and micrometeorites," Shelley Sindelar of the Canadian Space Agency told CTV's Genevieve Beauchemin.

However, Dextre only has three tools available at the moment. Spacewalking astronauts have more than 100 at their disposal.

Back at the CSA, engineers are watching closely as their $200 million baby is set to take its first steps in the outer world.

Also keen to see Canada's newest outer space gadget in full effect are the employees of Brampton's MDA Robotics, who built the device. Engineers there boast about Dextre's amazing ability: a sense of touch that lets the robot know how much force to use.

"At the wrist there are special sensors that give Dextre a sense of touch," MDA's Richard Rembala told CTV News.

Dextre's maintenance work in outer space will actually help down on earth too. Engineers who designed and built the robot say they've learned techniques that can be applied to things such as brain surgery.

Dextre isn't the only new high-tech device in space.

The European Space Agency's Jules Verne launched on Sunday. The cargo ship, also known as an Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), will be the first unmanned vehicle to conduct automated docking with the space station.

"It's a great new technology that the Europeans are providing us," Swanson said.

Another part of this mission will be attaching Japan's Kibo lab to the space station. The lab will be used to research micro-gravity, an important area of research for long-term missions deep into the solar system.

"We're getting into the real science phase" of the space station, Swanson said, adding that construction of the station has taken nearly eight years to date.

"It's now to the point where it's well developed, almost complete, and we are going to start doing much more science. It's become a really complete laboratory," he said.

With a report from CTV's Genevieve Beauchemin

Here is an animated presentation of the robot.