# Topics > Space >  Dextre, space two armed robot, Maxar Technologies Inc., Richmond, Canada

## Airicist

Manufacturer - Maxar Technologies Inc.

asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/dextre

Dextre on Wikipedia

Dextre is an integral part of Canadarm.




> Dextre, also known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), is a two armed robot, or telemanipulator, which is part of the Mobile Servicing System on the International Space Station (ISS), and extends the function of this system to replace some activities otherwise requiring spacewalks. It was launched March 11, 2008 on mission STS-123.

----------


## Airicist

Article "Canada launches robot-themed plastic banknote from space"
Aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Chris Hadfield unveils the new polymer $5 bill, which showcases ISS robots Canadarm2 and Dextre.

by Tim Hornyak
April 30, 2013

----------


## Airicist

Dextre The Space Robot Practices Pumping Gas

 Published on Mar 15, 2012




> The Canadian Dexterous Manipulator robot that sits atop the ISS, is getting it's research tools dirty for the first time, as it learns (and teaches engineers) how to service satellites.

----------


## Airicist

New $5 and $10 Bank Notes · Nouveaux billets de banque de 5 $ et 10 $ 

 Published on Apr 30, 2013




> Unveiling Ceremony of the New $5 and $10 Polymer Bank Notes
> 
> The $5 note features Canadarm2 and Dextre symbolizing Canada's continuing contribution to the international space program through robotics innovation. The theme of the new $10 note is the Canadian train representing Canada's great technical feat of linking its eastern and western frontiers by what was, at the time, the longest railway ever built.

----------


## Airicist

STS 123 Rewind - Dextre On-Orbit Assembly

 Published on Apr 3, 2014




> Spacewalkers struggle to awaken the monstrous space station robot. Learn more about Dextre here: http://goo.gl/Gn3rKN

----------


## Airicist

Space Station Robot Fitted With Satellite Deployer | Animation 

 Published on Apr 3, 2014




> The Space Station Integrated Kinetic Launcher for Orbital Payload Systems (SSIKLOPS) aka Cyclops, is a CubeSat carrier that can transfer from the Kibo module to station exterior robot Dextre for satellite deployment.

----------


## Airicist

U.S. SpaceX Dragon Ship Arrives at the International Space Station with Important cargo 

 Published on Apr 20, 2014




> The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft arrived at the International Space Station April 20, delivering almost 5,000 pounds of scientific experiments and supplies for the Expedition 39 crew. Dragon was launched atop the commercial company's Falcon 9 rocket April 18 from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on the third commercial resupply mission to the station for SpaceX. After a two-day rendezvous to catch up to the orbital laboratory, Dragon was grappled by Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and NASA Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio and berthed to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module using the station's Canadian-built robot arm, where it will remain until it departs the outpost on May 18 for a parachute-assisted return to Earth and a splashdown in the Pacific west of Baja California.

----------


## Airicist

Dextre installs OPALS on the International Space Station

 Published on May 1, 2014




> This computer-generated animation shows Dextre, the Canadian robotic handyman on board the International Space Station (ISS), retrieving OPALS (short for Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science) from inside the trunk of SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship, and installing it on the exterior of the ISS.
> 
> While sitting on the end of Canadarm2, Dextre is lowered into Dragon's external compartment (its "trunk"), picks up the OPALS payload with one hand, and places it on his workbench. Canadarm2 then puts Dextre down to change bases (for better reach), and picks Dextre back up again to install OPALS on the exterior of the European Space Agency's Columbus module, where OPALS will test the potential for using a laser to transmit data to Earth from space.
> 
> (Animation : Canadian Space Agency)

----------


## Airicist

Robot, heal thyself: Dextre becomes the first robot to repair itself in space 

 Published on May 20, 2014




> Dextre, the Canadian robotic handyman on board the International Space Station, has done several repair and maintenance jobs to date, as well as the Robotic Refueling Mission technology demonstration, when he became the first robot to refuel a mock satellite in space. The space bot is now poised to claim a first for robotkind: self-repair. This animation shows how Dextre will swap two cameras on Canadarm2 and the mobile base, which together form the three main components of Canada's Mobile Servicing System.
> 
> Dextre will start by retrieving a faulty camera located near Canadarm2's elbow joint. Since the camera is functional, but produces hazy images, Dextre will move it to a less critical location on the mobile base. Dextre will then head over to Japan's Kibo module to fetch a camera from the module's transfer airlock —a type of sliding drawer that can be depressurized—where the station's crew will place it for Dextre to retrieve. Dextre will install the new camera on Canadarm2's elbow joint, where it will provide critical views of the robotic arm's movements.
> 
> In addition to repairing and replacing two valuable cameras used for robotic operations, Dextre's task has far-reaching implications for what robots could do in the future. Technologies for on-orbit robotic servicing—repairing and refueling satellites in space—hold great potential for addressing the issue of space debris, a growing concern for the world's space agencies. The work done by Dextre today is laying the foundation for the future when one day, robots will be sent to repair, refuel and reposition orbiting satellites. On-orbit robotic servicing could therefore save satellite operators from the significant costs of building and launching new replacement satellites, and help reduce space debris.

----------


## Airicist

Dextre lets CATS out of the bag on the Space Station 

Published on Jan 21, 2015




> This animation shows how Dextre, the Canadian-built robotic handyman on board the International Space Station, will remove the CATS (Cloud Aerosol Transport System) science experiment from SpaceX’s Dragon. CATS will use lidar (laser-guided radar) to study the location, composition and distribution of clouds on a global scale. These operations mark the first time Dextre works with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s robotic arm.
> 
> This animation was generated by the same simulator used to train astronauts and flight controllers to operate Canadarm2 and Dextre in space.The video opens with a shot of the Japanese robotic arm getting into position. The next sequence shows Dextre, seated at the end of Canadarm2, reaching into Dragon’s trunk and grasping CATS. Canadarm2 then moves Dextre closer to the Japanese module of the station in order to hand CATS to the Japanese robotic arm for it to be installed on the station’s exterior (not shown).

----------


## Airicist

Dextre changes a pump on the International Space Station 

Published on Mar 6, 2015




> This computer-generated animation shows Dextre removing a failed ammonia pump, picking up a fresh spare, moving the latter to a location where spacewalkers can easily access it for installation at a later time, and then parking the failed pump where it is out of the way. Dextre, the Canadian Space Agency’s robotic handyman on board the International Space Station (ISS), was built to make space operations safer and cheaper by using a robot to do routine maintenance work, freeing up astronauts to do more important things (like science).
> 
> Space robotics is serious business. But Dextre’s daring lifts, spins and twirls on the end of Canadarm2 (the ISS’s robotic arm) call to mind a circus act instead of the stiff motions typically associated with robots in Hollywood B movies! While you watch the animation, keep in mind that Dextre is always controlled by humans on the ground (at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, or at the Canadian Space Agency in St-Hubert, Quebec, Canada). Now imagine sitting in the flight controller’s seat, driving the 17-metre long robotic arm with the nearly 4-metre tall Dextre flipping and dipping on the end… Whoa.

----------


## Airicist

DEXTRE watches the Super Bowl from the ISS

Published on Feb 7, 2016




> Dextre pays tribute to Super Bowl 50 by transforming into a referee.

----------


## Airicist

Dextre tests NASA’s International Space Station Robotic External Leak Locator (IRELL)

Published on Nov 25, 2016




> 2016-11-25 - While riding on the end of Canadarm2, Dextre will be moved to various locations on the exterior of the International Space Station, holding the IRELL tool near the cooling system pipes to detect traces of ammonia. (Credit: Canadian Space Agency)

----------


## Airicist

Dextre performs marathon battery replacement operations on the International Space Station

Published on Dec 13, 2016




> 2016-12-13 - In the most intensive robotics operation to date, this animation shows how Dextre, the Canadian Space Agency’s robotic handyman, will recover and replace the batteries essential for storing electrical energy generated by the International Space Station’s solar arrays. (Credit: Canadian Space Agency)

----------


## Airicist

Animation of Dextre unloading and reloading Dragon’s trunk

Published on May 7, 2019




> 2019-05-07 - Flight controllers on the ground use Canadian space robot Dextre to unload and reload the unpressurized trunk of the Dragon cargo vehicle. 
> 
> This animation shows Dextre handling the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3, Space Test Program-Houston 6, and Cloud-Aerosol Transport System payloads.  (Credit: Canadian Space Agency)

----------


## Airicist

Animation of Dextre demonstrating fluid transfer technologies - Robotic Refueling Mission 3

Published on Aug 8, 2019




> 2019-08-08 - A computer animation of Dextre, Canada's robotic handyman on the International Space Station, performing some of the operations for NASA's Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3). 
> 
> RRM3 is designed to advance refuelling and servicing capabilities for satellites and spacecraft, and could help enable longer exploration missions to more distant destinations.

----------


## Airicist

Tech on Deck: RRM Phase 1 & 2 (Ep. 2)

Mar 10, 2021




> Last week you heard about how we use the International Space Station to test technologies in space before they’re put to action in NASA missions.
> 
> In this week’s episode of Tech on Deck, learn about our first technology demonstration sent to Station: The Robotic Refueling Mission.
> 
> This tech demo helped us develop the tools and techniques needed to robotically refuel a satellite in space, an important capability for space exploration.

----------

