MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - Russia successfully sent its first humanoid robot to the space on board an unmanned spacecraft.
Soyuz MS-14 carrying robot named FEDOR (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) entered the orbit and successfully docked at the International Space Station at 11:08 p.m. EDT on Monday, NASA TV said.
The first attempt to dock with the station's Zvezda module had failed over the weekend after being launched from a Russian spaceport in southern Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft will stay in the space station for two weeks as part of its test flight, learning to assist astronauts there.
FEDOR, also known as Skybot F-850, is a life-sized, artificially intelligent robot that can move like human beings, a key skill that allows it to help carry out tasks remotely.
After conducting tests on board the station with Expedition 60 Commander Alexey Ovchinin, FEDOR will return to earth on September 7, head of the Roscosmos State Space Corporation Dmitry Rogozin told reporters.
After repairing the equipment installed on the MIM-2 research module, 'all docking stations are fully operational by September 25, when a new crew will be launched from the Baikonur spaceport,' Russian state news agency TASS quoted Rogozin as saying.
Russia's space agency usually sends manned Soyuz ships, but this time made an experiment with humanoid to see how it can operate a new emergency rescue system.
The successful docking is a breakthrough for the future of Russia's space program, which has suffered setbacks recently.
Fedor is the third robot to go into space. The others were NASA's Robonaut 2, launched in 2011, and a small Japanese robot called Kirobo that was accompanied by a space commander in 2013.
The docking of the Soyuz sets the stage for the robotic release of the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft Tuesday morning after a four-week stay at the station, NASA said. The Dragon contains nearly 2,700 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo.
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