CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The 220-mile-high unveiling of R2, the first humanoid robot in space, may be moved up at the urging of the president of the United States.
Astronaut Catherine Coleman said Friday that she and the 11 other humans aboard the shuttle-station complex want to get R2 out of its packing material as soon as possible.
“In fact, we’re all pretty sure that we hear scratching from the inside there,” she said.
Robonaut 2, better known as R2, flew to the international space station aboard Discovery and will stay behind when the shuttle leaves Monday. In a phone call to the crews Thursday, President Barack Obama urged them to “let him stretch his legs pretty soon.”
Regardless of when the packing foam comes off, R2 won’t be tested until May. Coleman said she can’t wait to test Robonaut. As robots travel into space, it is important to learn how they operate in weightlessness, she said. Better to learn those lessons inside the space station before a robot ventures out on a spacewalk or roams other planets, she added.
