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 HOUSTON (AP) - The international space station's giant new handyman robot got its first checkup on Sunday, with astronauts and flight controllers testing its electronics, joints and brakes.
The Canadian-built robot, named Dextre, passed all but one of the tests. One of the wrist joint brakes in Dextre's left arm slipped a tiny bit more than engineers wanted, but Canada's acting space station program manager said he wasn't too concerned. The brakes help hold the arm steady.
"In the long term it's not going to affect the operation of Dextre in any significant way," Pierre Jean said.
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