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NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, STS-133 mission specialist, shakes hands with Robonaut 2 during a news conference in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. (AP Photo/NASA, Lauren Harnett)
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CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space is about to get its first humanoid from planet
Earth. Robonaut 2—affectionately known as R2—is hitching a one-way
ride to the International Space Station this week aboard the final
flight of space shuttle Discovery.
It's
the first humanoid robot ever bound for space, a $2.5 million
mechanical and electrical marvel that NASA hopes one day will assist
flesh-and-bone astronauts in orbit.
Imagine,
its creators say, a future where Robonaut could take over space station
cleaning duties; spend hours outside in the extreme heat and cold,
patiently holding tools for spacewalking astronauts; and handle
emergencies like toxic leaks or fires.
Why,
Robonaut's descendants could even scout out asteroids, Mars and other
worlds in the decades ahead, paving the way for humans.
The
adventure begins Wednesday afternoon, with the planned final launch of
Discovery and Robonaut's six human crewmates. Mission managers gave the
green light Monday for the new launch date; shuttle gas leaks had to be
repaired before the countdown could begin and forced a two-day delay.
"While
it might be just a single step for this robot, it's really a giant leap
forward for tinmankind," said Rob Ambrose, acting chief of Johnson
Space Center's automation, robotics and simulation division in Houston.
For
now, R2—a collaboration between NASA and General Motors—exists only
from the waist up. It measures 3t 4 in tall and weighs 330 lbs. Each arm is 2 ft 8 in long.
Legs
are still in the works. But, oh, what an upper body: perfectly toned
arms and hands with palms, a robotic rarity, along with broad shoulders
and a washboard stomach. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hollywood's cyborg
Terminator, would be proud.
Watch
Robonaut lifting a 20-pound dumbbell, and "you can kind of feel the
burn," Ambrose said, showing a video at a recent news conference.
Unlike
people who tend to cheat, "this robot will really do what the physical
trainers tell you to do, which is to do the bicep curls nice and slow,"
he said.
Made
of aluminum and nickel-plated carbon fiber, the torso and arms are
padded to protect Robonaut and the astronauts, all the way down to the
five fingers on each hand. No metal, bony-looking fingers for this
robot.
R2's
eyes are where they should be: in its gold-colored head. Four visible
light cameras are located behind the robot's visor, and an infrared
camera is in its mouth for depth perception.
But its brain is in its tummy; engineers had nowhere else to put the computerized gray matter.
A
backpack holds a power system for plugging R2 into the space station.
On an asteroid or Mars, the backpack would contain batteries.
The
joints are filled with springs for give, and more than 350 electrical
sensors are scattered throughout, allowing R2 to sense even a feather
with its fingertips.
NASA
began working on its first dexterous robot—the landlubbing Robonaut 1—in 1997. Lacking money, the project ceased in 2006. General Motors
stepped in with the intention of improving car manufacturing and better
protecting workers. Early this year, the much speedier R2 was unveiled.
NASA
made room for the robot on one of its last few shuttle flights. It is
Discovery's 39th mission and the next-to-last shuttle flight for NASA,
although an additional trip may be added next year.
R2
is boxed up and stowed away for launch. Its identical twin—identical
on the outside, anyway—is at Kennedy Space Center, posing for pictures
and awaiting liftoff.
"I'm
not even a little nervous; NERVES OF ALUMINUM!!!" R2 said last week in a
Twitter update under AstroRobonaut. (OK, so a NASA public relations
woman and Robonaut team member are serving as ghost tweeters.)
The
robot will remain tucked away at the space station until late December—a nice Christmas present for the station's six inhabitants, Ambrose
figures.
While
the space station already has Canadian and Japanese robotic arms—resembling cranes—human operators are needed. Once given orders, R2
can carry out preprogrammed tasks by itself.
First will come a series of tests to see how Robonaut operates in weightlessness atop a fixed pedestal.
Legs
will be needed before Robonaut can tackle indoor chores like wiping
handrails or vacuuming air filters. NASA hopes to send up legs in late
2011, followed a year later by torso and computer enhancements enabling
the robot to venture out on spacewalks.
The
objective is to help astronauts, not replace them, NASA stresses.
Humans have been living continuously on the space station for 10 years—the actual record-setting anniversary is Tuesday—and the wish is for
10 more.
The
beauty of Robonaut, officials say, is it's strong yet safe and
trustworthy enough to work right next to humans. Think good Autobots
rather than evil Decepticons from "Transformers." It's also serenely
mute, more WALL-E than R2-D2 of "Star Wars" fame.
Discovery's
astronaut-physician, Michael Barratt, would have loved to pawn off
toilet cleaning while living at the space station last year. As
appealing as Robonaut is, he cautions "it will be a long time" before
the robot can do a job as quickly and efficiently as a space station
human.
Robonaut's strength, Barratt said, will be emergencies.
"Going into a toxic atmosphere to throw a switch or close a valve," he explained.
And, in a final salute, going down with the ship.
R2
will be on board when the space station stops operating sometime after
2020 and NASA sends it hurtling toward a grave in the Pacific.
Related links:
NASA: http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/default.asp
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AstroRobonaut
GM: http://www.gm.com/vehicles/innovation
