SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch delayed: Robonaut-2B waits for its new legs on Space Station

Robonaut R2A waving goodbye as Robonaut R2B launches into space aboard STS-133 from the Kennedy Space Center. 

R2 is the first humanoid robot in space. 

Credit: Joe Bibby

Unfortunately, R2 was designed without legs, as a desktop robotic unit but a set of new legs were designed, developed and built to complete R2.

R2 was meant to receive these new legs this weekend but the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon, it's cargo craft payload, has been postponed until 30th March 2014.

So, R2 is going to have to wait until then for his new legs.

SpaceX Dragon cargo craft ISS re-supply mission delayed

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is being prepared for launch inside the SpaceX hangar at Cape Canaveral. 

Photo credit: SpaceX 

The next supply run by SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed because of what sources described as apparent contamination that could pose problems for research hardware carried by the Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX was scheduled to launch a cargo ship from Cape Canaveral, Fla., before dawn on Sunday when engineers noticed contamination of some sort on the Dragon's lower unpressurized trunk section..

On Thursday, the private company said it needed more time and postponed the launch for two weeks, until March 30.

Dragon, the unmanned capsule, holds about 2 tons of supplies and experiments.

It will also take up a pair of legs for the humanoid robot at the space station. Until now, Robonaut-2 has been stuck on a pedestal.

Two of six electrically powered payloads aboard the Dragon are mounted in the trunk section, a first for this mission, and engineers were concerned the contamination might "outgas" in orbit and cause problems for the station-bound hardware.

One of the payloads, the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS), "will test the use of laser optics to transfer information to Earth from space," according to the NASA-SpaceX press kit.

The other trunk payload includes four High-Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV), cameras that will be mounted on the station's hull.

Both payloads will be removed from the trunk by the station's robot arm.

By delaying the flight to the end of the month, engineers will have time to correct the problem while making way for the planned March 25 launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three crew members to the international outpost.

This will be the third operational commercial resupply mission carried out by SpaceX under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA that calls for at least 12 flight to deliver some 44,000 pounds of cargo to the space station.

In a brief statement, SpaceX acknowledged the launch delay for the CRS-3 mission, but did not provide any details as to what prompted it.

"To ensure the highest possible level of mission assurance and allow additional time to resolve remaining open items, SpaceX is now targeting March 30th for the CRS-3 mission launch, with April 2nd as a back-up," the company said in an email release.

"These represent the earliest available launch opportunities given existing schedules, and are currently pending approval with the (Air Force Eastern) Range.

NASA Robonaut-2 to grow legs

NASA has announced its intention to add legs to the Robonaut 2 (R2) robot currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), sometime next year.

The move is part of a 50 year project (currently in year 17) by NASA to investigate the possibilities of using robots on space missions. Adding legs to R2 will increase its standing height to eight feet and its weight to 500 pounds.

R2 was first delivered to the ISS in 2011 as just a head, torso and arms by the Space Shuttle Discovery and is the first dexterous robot in space (Japan's talking Kirobo robot has arms and legs but they offer virtually no functionality.)

Designed at NASA's Johnson Space center in Houston Texas, R2's purpose is to perform many of the activities that are now carried out by human astronauts.

R2 is actually one of four robonauts that NASA has built, each with a different mission in mind.

Future parts for R2 include interchangeable wheels for rolling around on the surface of a planet or moon (one configuration involves having R2 roll around on four wheels instead of just two for added stability).

NASA also plans to create a line of hands that allow the robot to perform a variety of tasks, one of which would almost certainly be taking part in missions that involve conducting space walks to perform duties or to make repairs to the ISS.

In adding legs to R2, NASA plans to eventually have the robot move autonomously around the ISS—them being long will help with movingly quickly in and out of hatches. But that's part of a long learning process.

R2 will have to start out by taking baby steps as the cramped quarters of the ISS leaves little room for clumsiness—one bump could send a human astronaut careening helplessly through a compartment likely crashing into a wall, or sensitive equipment.

The ultimate goal is have R2 move as gracefully as an antelope both inside the ISS and out while performing tasks that are either mundane or dangerous.

Having the robot perform spacewalks, for example, would also save on costs as it wouldn't require life-support and other back-up systems necessary to keep humans safe when venturing out.

NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy v Robonaut-2

Astronaut vs. Robonaut

Following a session of Robonaut 2 operations controlled by ground personnel, Expedition 35 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy has a few light moments with the robot in the Destiny Laboratory onboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station. 

Robonaut 2 is the first humanoid robot to travel to space and the first U.S.-built robot to visit the space station. 

Image Credit: NASA