Arms Attached to Spacewalking Robot

Washington -- The arms of a $209 million spacewalking robot named Dextre, were attached Sunday by astronauts on the International Space Station, a report said.

The 12-foot, Canadian-built robot was created to take on some repair duties typically performed by human spacewalking astronauts, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Astronauts Rick Linnehan and Mike Foreman grunted as they worked to loosen the robot's fastened-down arms from its transport bed and attach them to Dextre's shoulders, the report said.

"It's really eerie out here, with this white humanoid-looking thing below me -- Mr. Roboto," Linnehan said.

Linnehan and astronaut Bob Behnken reportedly will conduct a spacewalk Monday night to hook up Dextre's tool-belt, cameras and lights.

Because Dextre is so large, he is kept outside the space station, where temperature highs and lows are severe and would damage the robot if he weren't heated through a connection with the station's robot arm, the Chronicle reported.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.