JAXA Launches Talking 'Robot Astronaut' Kirobo In HTV-4

A Japanese H-2B rocket launches the HTV-4 (Kounotori 4) robotic cargo ship toward the International Space Station on Aug. 4, 2013 Japan Standard Time (Aug. 3, 2013 EDT/GMT) from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.

Credit: NASA TV/JAXA

Call it one giant leap for robot kind: A small talking robot launched into space aboard a Japanese cargo ship Saturday (Aug. 3) to keep astronauts company on the International Space Station.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the humanoid Kirobo "robot astronaut" into orbit from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan as part of nearly 3.5 tons of supplies and equipment to resupply the space station's six-person crew.

Kirobo was put through a series of zero-gravity and other safety tests before it was deemed ready for flight. Image posted June 27, 2013.

Credit: Kibo Robot Project

Kirobo was packed inside Japan's unmanned HTV-4 (Kounotori 4) cargo ship when it launched into orbit atop the country's H-2B rocket at 3:48 p.m. EDT (1948 GMT), though it was early Sunday morning (Aug. 4) Japan Standard Time at the time of liftoff. The HTV-4 spacecraft will arrive at the space station on Aug. 9.

The Kirobo space robot is a diminutive mechanical person just 13 inches (34 centimeters) tall built to converse with astronauts on long space voyages.

The robot, and its ground-based counterpart Mirata, are part of the Kibo Robot Project to study human-robot interaction technology.

Kirobo speaks Japanese and is expected to talk to JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata when he arrives at the space station in November.

Kibo, which means "hope" in Japanese, is the name of Japan's research laboratory module aboard the International Space Station. The name of Kirobo is a merging of Kibo and robot, project officials have said.

Kirobo will take part in the first robot-to-human conversation with veteran Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata when they are both onboard the space station