The Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle blasts off from the launchpad in the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on August 22, 2019. (ROSCOSMOS PHOTO)
The robot nicknamed Fedor, meant to be tested for capacities to perform hazardous tasks onboard the ISS, will stay in orbit for two weeks before returning to Earth in early September
MOSCOW, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft carrying a humanoid robot is scheduled to perform another attempt to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos said Saturday.
"On August 27 the second automatic docking attempt will take place, with the Soyuz MS-14 docking to the Zvezda module," the company said in a statement.
According to the statement, during the first attempt of docking on early Saturday, a fault occurred in the ISS equipment responsible for the safe approach and airlocking, after which the Mission Control Center decided to withdraw the spacecraft to a safe distance to ensure the safety of the crew and the station.
The aborted docking might be caused by a problem with a navigation system located on the ISS, Tass news agency reported earlier, citing NASA live broadcast.
The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft carrying the robot was successfully launched on Thursday. According to original plans, after the docking of the Soyuz with the ISS, the robot will be transferred from the ship to the Russian segment of the station.
The F-850 humanoid robot nicknamed Fedor, meant to be tested for capacities to perform hazardous tasks onboard the ISS, will stay in orbit for two weeks before returning to Earth in early September, Roscosmos said.
