From Wired: Astronauts on the next Endeavour launch will be doing something that smacks of science fiction. They will be assembling a giant robot in space! On their 16 day mission, shuttle astronauts will spend 3 out of 5 space walks assembling Canadian Space Agency's Dextre - short for dexterous and pronounced like Dexter. Dextre is a two-armed space station robot with 11-foot arms, a shoulder span of nearly 8 feet and a height of 12 feet and weighing in at 3,400-pounds. Equipped with a tool holster, Dextre is designed to assist spacewalking astronauts and, ultimately, to take over some of their dangerous outdoor work. Dextre can pivot at the waist, and has seven joints per arm. Its hands, or grippers, have built-in socket wrenches, cameras and lights. Only one arm is designed to move at a time to keep the robot stable and avoid a two-arm collision.
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