Humanoid robot docks in spacecraft at ISS
August 27, 2019
An unmanned space capsule carrying Russia's first humanoid robot successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday.
The Soyuz MS-14 had previously failed to dock on its first attempt over the weekend.
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The life-size robot Fedor, short for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research, mimics human movements and has elements of artificial intelligence.
The robot will assist six astronauts onboard the ISS and stay until September 7.
The spacecraft is also carrying 670 kilograms (1,477 pounds) of scientific equipment and other goods to support life on the ISS.
The craft blasted off Thursday from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan but failed to dock at the space station Saturday.
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NASA said the docking problem had to do with an automated rendezvous system and not the Soyuz spacecraft.
The Russian android is not the first humanoid robot to travel to the ISS. In 2011, NASA sent up Robonaut 2, which stayed there for several years, returning to Earth last year because of technical problems. Japan also sent a 34-centimeter (13.4 inches) tall robot called Kirobo along with the station's first Japanese commander.
cw/rc (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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