dextre

Dextre is Alive, Well, and on Vacation

After a successful assembly, NASA's newest robotic crew member awaits its first mission

All reports suggest that the International Space Stations new robotic handyman will survive, and not freeze into a $209 million junk pile due to a power problem. Astronauts bypassed a faulty cable on Friday, and managed to get power to the robot arm, which will keep it warm, and ready for duty, in the deep cold of space.

[ Read Full Story ]

The Space Station’s New Robot Repairman Might Need a Jolt

Engineers are hopeful that Dextre will be up and running soon

The International Space Stations new robotic repairman, a $200 million Canadian robot called Dextre, should end up working just fine despite some early glitches, officials say. Dextre, an incredibly dexterous ‘bot with two flexible three-meter arms (hence, of course, the name), is designed to be a kind of maintenance machine on the outside of the ISS.

[ Read Full Story ]

The Buddy System

For astronauts on the ISS, a new robot means fewer risky spacewalks

Replacing a circuit breaker in a dark basement is one thing. But what if you had to climb around the outside of a spacecraft orbiting hundreds of miles above the Earth to do it? This kind of dangerous maintenance work has become fairly common for astronauts aboard the International Space Station, where they spend as much time fixing the $100-billion-plus orbiting science lab as they do performing actual research.

[ Read Full Story ]
BOWN Block Header

speedy The Fastest Swimsuit on Earth
"At the Beijing Olympic pool, perhaps the only star bigger than Michael Phelps was his swimsuit. The Speedo LZR (pronounced "laser"), like Phelps, didn't disappoint: 16 of the 32 gold-medal winners wore the full-body suit, and another 13 wore LZR pants."
[Read full story]

speedy A Finish that Repairs Itself
"It won't save you from a key-gouging vandal, but the finish on the 2008 Infiniti EX and FX-model SUVs can erase scrapes caused by, say, car washes or stray branches."
[Read full story]

speedy Boeing Advanced Tactical Laser
"Truck-mounted IED-destroying lasers have already been tested in Iraq, but firing lasers from an airplane is a more difficult proposition."
[Read full story]

speedy A Spit Test for Heart Attacks
"This year, San Antonio EMT crews began using a spit test that detects cardiac arrest faster, more accurately and more cheaply than other diagnostic tests."

[Read full story]

Flickr Block Header

Share your photos in the Pop Sci pool at www.flickr.com!
Current theme: Spooky Science
Our latest winner

Subscribe for 2 free issues!

POP_embeddedForm_cover.jpg