Creepy, Humanoid Robot Has Made Its Way To The ISS

If you think that robopocalypse will only take place on Earth because all the robots are here, you may be wrong, because they have made it into space. Roscosmos, a space agency of Russia, has recently launched its unsettling, humanoid Skybot F-850 robot to the International Space Station (ISS).

But no worries, everything’s fine.

The nickname for this Skybot is Fedor. He may be best known for featuring in a Russian video from two years ago as it held two handguns looking like a robo-Clint Eastwood. The robot even has his own account on Twitter to share content from the perspective of a robot. However, this turns out menacing instead of cute. You can see Fedor in a video where it moved in response to a human operator.

On August 21, Russia packaged up the Skybot in a Soyuz MS-14 capsule, with a Russian flag in his hand, and launched it to the ISS. This launch is important for the Russian space agency, which marks the very first flight for an upgraded Soyuz capsule carried on the Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicle that will ultimately replace manned launches to the station.

Fedor will experience staying on the ISS for a short time. The robot is expected to reach the ISS on August 24 and will come back to Earth on September 27, NASA said.

Dmitry Rogozin, the general director of Roscosmos posted a promo video for the journey of Fedor on Twitter, featuring a soundtrack inspired by action movies from the 80s.

Cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Alexey Ovchinin are now onboard the ISS, staying with ESA and NASA astronauts. The crew members of Russia will welcome Fedor as well as test the robot’s work in microgravity.

Some day, Fedor could act as a space explorer if he doesn’t take the stand and lock other astronauts outside of the ISS.