In article ,
John Doe wrote:
Neil Fraser wrote:
Dextre was launched to ISS in March 2008, and was fully tested and
qualifed for space operations a year later in April 2009.

Was it really launched in 2008 ? I thought it was more recent.

The original specs called for Dextre to be designed to do exactly what
they did with EVA a day or two ago: replace batteries on the truss.

My guess is that astronauts like to do EVAs so they fidn excuses to not
use Dextre. After shuttle is gone, Dextre may have less use than planned
originally, not only because less cargo/spare parts will be sent to the
ISS, but whatever is sent, is liekly to have been sent in a pressurised
ship (Progress, ATV, HTV) and need to get out via Airlock and thus
require EVA anyways.

Part of HTV's cargo volume is unpressurized, and I think this will
be true of SpaceX Dragon as well, once that finally flies.

Moving something as large as the recently-replaced batteries out
via the airlock seems like a real logistical nightmare, considering
there's barely enough room in there for two suited astronauts as it
is, and safety rules apparently prohibit sending one person out
alone. If you have to carry batteries out one at a time via
repeated cycling of the airlock, think about all O2 and N2 this
woudl waste (plus extra wear on pumps and seals, etc.)

--
Jordan.