Ball-shaped robot that hovers over to an astronaut when called, heads into space
Tampa — A ball-shaped artificial intelligence robot nicknamed the "flying brain" because it is trained to follow and interact with a German astronaut, blasted off Friday toward the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon cargo ship. A new, spare hand for the station’s robotic arm, an experiment to measure plant stress in space and a study of a new cancer treatment, were also on board as the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 5.42am (9.42am GMT). "We have ignition and lift-off. The Falcon 9 rocket powers the Dragon spacecraft toward the International Space Station," said a Nasa commentator as the white rocket fired its engines and lit up the skies on a dark, Florida morning. The unmanned Dragon capsule carried 2,700kg on its 15th supply mission to the orbiting lab, as part of a $1.6bn contract with Nasa. Both the capsule and the rocket have flown before. The Dragon sent cargo to space in 2016 and the Falcon blasted off a Nasa satellite two months ag...
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