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Mission accomplished! Dextre Repairs Electrical Components on the ISS

Dextre, the Canadian Space Agency's robotic handyman aboard the International Space Station (ISS), has successfully replaced a faulty circuit-breaker box on the orbiting lab. The robot swapped the failed component for a fresh one, thereby restoring part of the orbiting lab's backup electrical systems. The maneuver marks the first time Dextre replaces defective equipment on the Station.

Canadarm2 supported Dextre during the entire operation, which took place over two days (August 28 and 29, 2011). Dextre was operated from the ground by robotics flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and supported by several teams of engineers both in Houston and at the Canadian Space Agency's headquarters in Saint-Hubert, Quebec.

A close-up of Dextre's hand as the robot slides the faulty circuit-breaker box out of its casing (Photo: NASA/CSA).