While KSC was preparing to launch Robonaut 2 to the space station (UPDATE: Launch scheduled for today was scrubbed until Monday), 44 INSPIRE ninth grade community members heard from one of its creators, Curtis Frodge, a mechanical engineer from Johnson Space Center, Texas. Curtis shared his experience working in the robotics branch at JSC, from getting Robonaut ready to fly to designing and constructing the Chariot mobility robot. He talked of how robots will be used to aid the astronuts in the tasks, from carrying tools and supplies to performing repetitive tasks. He even chatted about working with three INSPIRE interns during the summer! You can learn more about Robonaut below.
Bonus question:
Question: Does the robonaut have any sense of balance or way to pick themselves up if they collapse?Robert S.
Answer: That is being developed right now. Since he is currently hard mountedhe doesn't need to know about balance but he is aware of body positionand forces he places on objects so once legs are incorporated abalance feature shouldn't be far behind and a way to pick himself upwill be on the to do list. It should just be an algorithm though sincehe is rather robust and capable.Curtis
Next week our chat will take place one day earlier than usual. Because Thursday is Veterans Day, a federal holiday, we will chat on Wednesday night with Karen Ricks from Langley Research Center. Langley is the oldest of the NASA centers, and 10th graders are welcome to come an ask questions about aeronautics, the Orion spacecraft, and other NASA programs taking place at Langley.
Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour to reflect the end of Daylight Saving Time at 2am Sunday, November 7. Set you alarm Saturday night for 2am. When you wake up, reset it to 1am (don't forget to turn your alarm off or you'll wake back up in an hour!). Or you could do it before you go to bed but that would be cheating! ;)
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