Images from inside the spaceship show Fedor squatting, holding a Russian flag in his right hand. Its tight journey will end this weekend when the capsule will join the International Space Station where Fedor will join the six astronauts – two Russians, three Americans and an Italian – aboard the gigantic laboratory in orbit.
Fedor, also known as Skybot F-850, is scheduled to spend two weeks on-board testing with Expedition 60 commander Alexey Ovchinin before returning home the first week of September. The activities that Fedor will undertake at the station are a well-kept secret, at least for the moment, according to Russian media.
Fedor's most important work may have already been completed: he embarked on space on board an upgraded version of the Soyuz rocket, an older version of Russia, to serve mock test. For almost ten years, the Russian Soyuz rocket and capsule systems have been the only space equipment capable of propelling men into orbit. And Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, is currently testing a new rocket model that will replace older computers and use an improved guidance system.
This is not the first time that a robot goes to the International Space Station. For example, Robonaut 2, a humanoid robot without legs developed by NASA, landed at the space station in 2011. Robotic tools are also common: a slender arm, the Canadarm2, attached to the top of the station can be used to hang a spaceship and help it lock itself to a home port.
Fedor is not a new face in the world of robotics. In 2017, a Russian official posted on his Facebook page a video showing a Fedor robot he was currently working on. Fedor is shown with tools, driving a car and shooting with a gun.
