Undocked shuttle to use robotic arm to inspect heat shield

25.03.2009

that two robotic arms played critical roles in the installation of what essentially is the last piece of the . Canadarm, the robotic arm onboard the space shuttle, and a robotic arm onboard the space station, dubbed, in turn, Canadarm 2, were used to unload the truss from the space shuttle's cargo bay. Then the robotic arm on the space station maneuvered the truss into place while the space walkers watched to make sure it was aligned exactly. Then the astronauts screwed in the bolts while Canadarm 2 held the truss in place.

This past Monday, spent part of their last spacewalk of this mission lubricating the robotic arm on the space station. The astronauts oiled up the wire snares in the arm's gripper mechanism, which had been sticking.