Mar. 13, 2008, 06:21 PM
Wow, 210 million and a possibility of no response. This technology is so complicated I have to wonder how viable it is in the long run.
USA Today Wrote:Source: Link
The International Space Station's new $210 million robot, a two-armed giant named Dextre, refused to come to life on command Thursday, jeopardizing NASA's plans to get the robot up and running over the next week.
Mission Control tried to power up the robot's pieces early Thursday soon after they were installed on the station, but there was no response. Engineers plan to make a software fix sometime after 5 a.m. ET Friday that might wake the robot from its sleep.
NASA has "a fairly high degree of confidence" that the robot can be fixed quickly, said Michael Suffredini, space station program manager. He said the software change to be made Friday has fixed other, similar glitches on the station.
The robot's parts were delivered to the station Thursday by space shuttle Endeavour, and astronauts on Endeavour had been assigned to put Dextre together on two spacewalks scheduled to begin Saturday and Monday The robot-building astronauts are scheduled to depart the station March 25.
In the worst-case scenario, the Endeavour crew might have to leave the robot behind in pieces, Suffredini said. He said the station's three crewmembers, though not trained in the complex task of piecing the robot together, could do the job if necessary.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: International Space Station | Endeavour | Dextre
The problem will have little effect on the Endeavour crew's first spacewalk, which is scheduled to end about 4 a.m. ET Friday. During that outing, the spacewalkers are scheduled to bolt the robot's hands onto its arms.
Dextre requires power to run tests during Saturday's spacewalk on its brakes and motors. It also needs power for heaters that help it survive the extreme temperature swings of space. The robot could survive at least several weeks without the power.
If the problem still isn't fixed before the shuttle is ready to leave, spacewalkers could cover the robot with special blankets, Suffredini said, and in that state Dextre could survive "almost forever."
Once fully assembled and operating, Dextre will be able to replace nearly 140 parts of the station, such as batteries and circuit boxes. It's expected to aid astronauts not only with spacewalks but also with making repairs.
LeRoy Cain, chairman of the NASA managers overseeing the mission, said NASA officials will consider extending the shuttle's visit to the station to get Dextre built. That option is unappealing because Endeavour's stay at the station is already planned to be the longest in shuttle history, and an even longer stay could exhaust the astronauts.
In addition, an untested new cargo ship is scheduled to dock to the station in early April. The station crew needs to turn its attention to preparing for the ship's arrival, Suffredini said.