Astronauts power up space robot

Astronauts got power flowing to the International Space Station’s new robot, overcoming a problem that had threatened to disrupt shuttle Endeavour’s construction mission.

Working from inside, the astronauts used the space station’s mechanical arm to grab and energize the sleeping giant, named Dextre, which had been dormant outside the orbiting complex for nearly two days.

Electricity quickly began streaming to the robot’s joints and electronics, to everyone’s relief. “Good news from the flight control room,” Mission Control announced in Houston. “Dextre has power.”

A cable design flaw had prevented power from reaching Dextre once the robot was hoisted onto the space station. Engineers on the ground put in the wrong circuitry before Endeavour’s flight.

With the power bypass, NASA kept on track today’s spacewalk to hook the robot’s 11-foot arms to its torso.