Capsule Containing Russian Humanoid Robot Fails To Dock With ISS
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https://apnews.com/a39432b400664260be02058443ad2f0f
MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian space capsule carrying a humanoid robot has failed to dock as planned with the International Space Station.
A statement from the Russian space agency Roscosmos said the failure to dock on Saturday was because of problems in the docking system. It said the space station itself and the six-person crew are safe.
Vladimir Solovyev, flight director for the Russian segment of the ISS, said a new docking attempt would be made Monday.
It is carrying a robot called Fedor, which will perform two weeks of tests aboard the space station. Solovyev said the robot had not been taught how to manually conduct a docking.
From https://www.dw.com/en/russian-robot-fedors-capsule-fails-to-dock-at-iss/a-50147614 we get:
Fedor, a Russian-built space-faring android, is running late for his rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) after the docking procedure failed to execute on Saturday morning.
The robot left Earth on Thursday aboard a Soyuz capsule, which was programmed to close in on the orbital station and dock automatically. On Saturday, Russia's space agency, Roskosmos, showed a live feed of what was expected to be the final stage of the journey.
Fedor's Twitter feed also showed a photo from the ship, saying that the spacecraft had 153 meters (167 yards) to go.
However, once the ship got within 100 meters of the ISS, the capsule's automatic docking system apparently failed to stabilize the vessel. After that, the capsule began to move away and the feed ended, according to an Interfax correspondent at Roskosmos' mission control outside Moscow.
The ship has since been moved to a "safe distance" of 300 meters away from the ISS, according to the news agency. Roskosmos did not immediately comment on the incident. The journalists were asked to leave the building, news agency RIA Novosti reported.
According to NASA, Russian flight controllers told the ISS crew that preliminary data indicated the problem was on the ISS side, not on the module. The controllers suspected the fault was with the so-called KURS automated rendezvous system.
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