Along Came a Spider : Robotics: Computer-driven box on wires, built by McDonnell Douglas, will twist knobs, read gauges on space shuttle.

Charlotte, a spider-like robot named after the clever arachnid in the book “Charlotte’s Web,” will soon be scurrying about in the heavens helping space shuttle astronauts do their chores.

The robot, about the size of a microwave oven, will do work that is better fitted for an eight-limbed mechanical spider than two-armed astronauts--things like carrying heavy payloads in shuttle experiments and shooting pictures in space.

Charlotte was hatched by McDonnell Douglas Aerospace engineers in Houston and was performing demonstrations at the company’s Huntington Beach plant this week. The robot can record experiments and operate knobs, switches and buttons.

Next year, the robot will be carried into space on a shuttle that will house SpaceHab, a research lab for biological and material science experiments. Charlotte can be used by a scientist on the ground with a laptop computer to remotely control experiments in space.

Charlotte is suspended on eight cables that are relatively easy to install and remove. Servomotors reel the cables, allowing Charlotte to maneuver in space much like a spider in its web.

McDonnell Douglas named the robot after the clever and reliable spider in “Charlotte’s Web,” a popular book by E.B. White that was made into children’s animated film.

“Charlotte was always reliable in the book and had an answer whenever Wilbur (a pig) had a problem,” said Julia MacInnes, spokeswoman for McDonnell Douglas.

Although developed for extraterrestrial work, Charlotte could be used for light construction duty, such as placing windows on high-rise buildings, entertainment and “virtual reality” training on Earth, the company said.

So, like in the book’s ending, Charlotte one day might hatch 100 baby spiders.