Astronauts bring spacewalking robot to life

Two spacewalking astronauts attached 11ft arms to the international space station’s huge new robot today, preparing the giant machine for its handyman job on the orbital outpost.

The Canadian-built robot, named Dextre, will stand 12ft and have a mass of 3,400lbs when it is fully assembled. It is designed to assist spacewalking astronauts and possibly someday take over some of the tougher chores, like lugging around replacement parts.