Robonaut 2, which will be the world’s first robotic astronaut to work alongside its human counterparts up in orbit, is getting ready for its historic journey over at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Just how does a 330-pound robot prepare, you wonder?
Right now, by lying back and taking it easy. The technicians pictured above are transferring Robonaut 2 — or R2, as it’s affectionately called — from the shipping container it arrived in into the Sleepr, a special crate designed to house the ‘bot as it heads up to the International Space Station. All told, the Sleepr plus passenger will weigh more than 500 pounds, which means individually it could be one of the heaviest loads ferried into space.
“Sleepr,” in true geeky fashion, is in fact in itself an acronym standing for Structural Launch Enclosure to Effectively Protect Robonaut. Two things were important when designing it: that R2 would reach the space station safely, and that the crew there would be able to easily unpack the robot.
Once up in space, the R2 is most likely going to become a permanent member of the crew as space agencies around the world evaluate how ready we are to have robots work alongside humans in orbit.