MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Russia’s new orbital station will operate autonomously to a large extent and will be kitted with artificial intelligence, Head of the State Space Corporation Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin said at the New Knowledge online educational marathon on Thursday.

"The system itself, the station itself with artificial intelligence elements should demonstrate intelligence of the highest level," the Roscosmos chief said, responding to a question about the principal distinctions of the future orbiter from previous systems.

Robotics should be used aboard Russia’s new orbital station, Rogozin said.

"There must be extravehicular robots," the Roscosmos chief stressed.

The new orbital outpost in conjunction with the Zeus nuclear-powered space tug can serve as a prototype for future systems of lengthy inter-planetary flights, Rogozin said.

The Roscosmos chief said earlier on Thursday that Roscosmos was set to start deploying the new Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) in five-six years.