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Fyodor Spacecraft Prepares to Dock with ISS

Humanoid robot Fyodor prepares for the Soyuz MS-14 orbital flight to the International Space Station. (Getty Images)
Humanoid robot Fyodor prepares for the Soyuz MS-14 orbital flight to the International Space Station. (Getty Images)
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Fyodor Spacecraft Prepares to Dock with ISS

Humanoid robot Fyodor prepares for the Soyuz MS-14 orbital flight to the International Space Station. (Getty Images)
Humanoid robot Fyodor prepares for the Soyuz MS-14 orbital flight to the International Space Station. (Getty Images)

Fyodor, the first humanoid robot to partake in a space mission, lost a chance to be named "the first robot to join the International Space Station crew" after the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft carrying it, failed to dock with the station.

Fyodor was preparing for a second docking attempt scheduled on Tuesday morning, stated the NASA and Roscosmos.

On August 22, the Soyuz spacecraft embarked on a mission to the ISS, carrying Fyodor and its small companion.

Once it arrives to the ISS, the humanoid robot is supposed to start its tasks including sending measures remotely, determining the mission's safety signals and taking part in experiments that will be used while working in open space.

Two days after the launch, Soyuz reached the right orbit to dock with the ISS. However, a malfunction stopped it when it was only 60 meters away and prompted astronauts to keep it at a safe distance.

Three astronauts - Russian, Italian and American - have completed the necessary training before the second docking attempt.

The astronauts on board the station have relocated some of their units as part of preparations for the operation, which is supposed to end with Fyodor moving from Soyuz to the International Space Station, becoming the first robot to carry out missions within the station crew.

The Russian robot is supposed to stay there until September 7 before returning to Earth.

The manufacture of the robot Fyodor started in 2014. At the request of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, it was later decided to train and develop it to be the first robot to partake in a space flight. Fyodor will also be used in the missions of the Federatsiya spacecraft being manufactured as part of the program of lunar manned flights.

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Storm Dumps Record Rain in Northern California, While US Northeast Deals with Winter Storms

A pedestrian walks along a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A pedestrian walks along a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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Storm Dumps Record Rain in Northern California, While US Northeast Deals with Winter Storms

A pedestrian walks along a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A pedestrian walks along a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A major storm dropped more snow and record rain in California, causing small landslides and flooding some streets, while on the opposite side of the country blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect Saturday for areas spanning from the Northeast to central Appalachia.
The storm on the West Coast arrived in the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, mostly in the Seattle area, before its strong winds moved through Northern California, The Associated Press reported.
Santa Rosa, California, saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of rain falling by Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service in the Bay Area.
Flooding closed part of scenic Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in Mendocino County and there was no estimate for when it would reopen, according to the California Department of Transportation.
On the East Coast, another storm brought much-needed rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. Parts of West Virginia were under a blizzard warning through Saturday morning, with up to 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow and high winds making travel treacherous.
As residents in the Seattle area headed into the weekend, more than 112,000 people were still without power from this season’s strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land. Crews worked to clear streets of downed lines, branches and other debris, while cities opened warming centers so people heading into their fourth day without power could get warm food and plug in their cellphones and other devices.
Gale warnings were issued off Washington, Oregon and California, and high wind warnings were in effect across parts of Northern California and Oregon. There were winter storm warnings for parts of the California Cascades and the Sierra Nevada.
Forecasters predicted that both coasts would begin to see a reprieve from the storms as the system in the northeast moves into eastern Canada and the one in the West heads south.
By Friday night, some relief was already being seen in California, where the sheriff’s office in Humboldt County downgraded evacuation orders to warnings for people near the Eel River after forecasters said the waterway would see moderate but not major flooding.
The system roared ashore on the West Coast on Tuesday as a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes.
Debra Campbell said she was sitting in the dark with a flashlight that night, unable to sleep as strong winds lashed her house in Crescent City, California. With a massive boom, a 150-foot (46-meter) tree came crashing down on her home and car.
“It was just so incredibly frightening,” AP quoted Campbell as saying. “Once I realized it wasn’t going to come through the ceiling where I was at, I was able to grab my car keys and my purse. ... And I open the front door and it’s just solid tree.”
In the Northeast, which has been hit by drought, more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain was expected by Saturday morning north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.
Despite the mess, the precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions in a state that has seen an exceptionally dry fall.
“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.
Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains, prompting a raft of school closures. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities like Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. More than 85,000 customers in 10 counties lost power, and the state transportation department imposed speed restrictions on some highways.