Space station's new robot ready for work

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station and visiting shuttle Endeavour colleagues delicately repositioned on Tuesday a new maintenance robot that will play a key role on the $100 billion outpost.
The Canadian-built robot, named Dextre, was assembled in orbit and outfitted with tools to help future spacewalking astronauts tackle maintenance and repairs on the complex.
Until it is needed, however, the 12-foot (3.7-meter) tall handyman, will perch on the outside of the U.S. Destiny laboratory.
"He looks like a gunfighter," Endeavour commander Dom Gorie radioed to Mission Control.
Before the move to the U.S. lab, the astronauts tucked Dextre's 11-foot (3.4-meter) long arms closer to its body and delicately flew it on the end of the station's crane to a mounting post on Destiny.
The pallet that held the robot's limbs was to be returned to the shuttle's cargo bay and taken back to Earth. Endeavour arrived at the station a week ago for a 12-day construction and repair mission.
"This has been a fantastic success already," flight director Kwatsi Alibaruho told reporters.
The mission has not been entirely trouble-free. Flight controllers were considering options for mounting two science experiments that stymied a spacewalking construction crew earlier in the day.