Accessibility links

Breaking News

'Moscow, We Have A Problem': Russian Robot Fails To Dock With ISS

Updated

The FEDOR robot is designed to assist ISS crew members with minor tasks, while future models will be developed to carry out extravehicular activities.
The FEDOR robot is designed to assist ISS crew members with minor tasks, while future models will be developed to carry out extravehicular activities.

An unmanned Soyuz spacecraft carrying Russia’s first humanoid robot has failed to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).

A statement from Russia's Roskosmos space agency said the failure to dock on August 24 was because of problems in the docking system.

Roskosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said in a statement that renewed attempts by the spaceship carrying the robot would be made on August 27.

"Another attempt will be made on the morning of August 27 in automatic mode to dock the Soyuz MS-14 to the docking port of the Zvezda service module," Rogozin wrote on Twitter on August 24.

Rogozin said that, for now, the Soyuz MS-14 was in waiting mode as preparations were being made for the second docking attempt.

Earlier, Roskosmos officials were quoted as saying a second docking attempt would take place on August 26.

The Russian news agency TASS reported that the Soyuz came as close as 96 meters to the space station before aborting the docking attempt and moving away.

The cause of the problem appeared to stem from the automated rendezvous system called KURS, the U.S. space agency NASA said, adding that nothing was wrong with the Soyuz vessel itself.

Both NASA and Roskosmos said the six-person crew on board the space station were not in any danger.

The FEDOR robot, the abbreviated name for the Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research anthropomorphic mechanism, blasted off to the Earth orbit aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on August 22 from the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan.

The robot, with the identification number Skybot F850, repeated the famous phrase by the first human in space, Russian Yury Gagarin, by saying "Poekhali!" (Let's go!) during the launch.

FEDOR, which is 1.8 meters tall and weighs 160 kilograms, even has Instagram and Twitter accounts.

"The first phase of in-flight experiments went according to the flight plan," the robot's account tweeted after reaching the Earth orbit.

Officials Roskosmos have said that FEDOR will assist ISS crew members with minor tasks, while future models will be developed to carry out extravehicular activities.

With reporting by Current Time, AFP, dpa, and AP
  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL

    RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27 languages in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG