Robonaut Gets Unpacked, Finally

It took special orders from President Obama, but Robonaut is now unpacked, armed, and almost operational

1 min read
Robonaut Gets Unpacked, Finally

Robonaut 2 was delivered to the International Space Station in a giant packing crate last month.I don't know about you, but if somebody sent me an awesome robot that looks more than a little bit like a Cylon, I wouldn't leave it all packed up in its box. And you know what? President Obama agrees with me, and during his live chat with the ISS crew on March 8, he directed (or, suggested, anyway) that they let the bot out already:

"Still in packing foam? That's a shame, man! C'mon guys, unpack the guy! He flew all that way and you guys aren't unpacking him?"

Steven Lindsey, commander of STS-133, replied:

"You know, the poor guy's been locked in that foam for about four months now... Every once in a while we hear some scratching sounds from inside, maybe a 'let me out, let me out,' but we're not sure."

Uh, that's kinda creepy. But for better or worse, R2 is now officially out of its packing crate, hooray!

You know, in that stowed pose, R2 looks almost exactly like a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robot. Not that I'm implying anything...

Sadly, R2 still has a long wait ahead of it, since testing isn't scheduled to begin until May. In the meantime, R2 is just going to sit there on its pedestal, ready to rock 'n sock anyone who happens to float too close.

[ Robonaut ] via [ AP ] and [ @Astrorobonaut ]

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