OTD In Space – March 11: 1st Japanese Module And 'Dextre' Robot Launch To Space Station
- 2 months ago
On March 11, 2008, the first Japanese module of the International Space Station launched on the space shuttle Endeavour during mission STS-123.
Nicknamed Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module is the largest single module on the entire space station. Its main component is about the size of a tour bus, so they couldn't launch the whole thing all at once. The remaining parts were launched later on STS-124 and STS-127. Along with the seven astronauts, STS-123 also carried a special Canadian robot to the space station. The Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator, also known as Dextre, is a huge two-armed robot that conducts repairs outside of the space station. This reduces the need for astronauts to take risky spacewalks to do the repairs themselves.
Nicknamed Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module is the largest single module on the entire space station. Its main component is about the size of a tour bus, so they couldn't launch the whole thing all at once. The remaining parts were launched later on STS-124 and STS-127. Along with the seven astronauts, STS-123 also carried a special Canadian robot to the space station. The Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator, also known as Dextre, is a huge two-armed robot that conducts repairs outside of the space station. This reduces the need for astronauts to take risky spacewalks to do the repairs themselves.