Robonaut R2 will take off for the International Space Station this year

Robonaut R2, the astronaut robot that we talked about in February, will take off for space at the end of this year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY-SJyS18lA NASA has confirmed that the robot built with General Motors will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in the fall of 2010 on board the Discovery space shuttle during the STS-133 mission. R2 weighs 136 kg (300 pounds) and has arms and hands which are capable of carrying out manipulation tasks like a real human. It's the start of a new era, one of space robotics and humanoid workers sent into space. This type of robot is especially suited to highly dangerous missions for astronauts. We wish R2 the best of luck as a new member of the International Space Station.