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Russia’s new orbital station to be serviced by robots, says top tech executive

It is reported that the future Russian orbital station may also require robots to provide psychological and information support to cosmonauts’ activity

MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. Russia’s future orbital station (ROS) will be maintained with the help of space-based robotic systems, CEO of the Android Technics Scientific and Production Association Yevgeny Dudorov said on Tuesday.

"The ROS is expected to feature artificial intelligence elements and its maintenance will involve space-based robotic systems that will presumably deal with autonomously controlling and servicing the station, using uncrewed robotic vehicles," Dudorov said in an article published by the Energia Space Rocket Corporation in the Space Engineering and Technology magazine.

Robotic systems designed for extra-vehicular activity will be able to carry out refueling, replace expendables, provide maintenance to the payload on the service platform, launch small spacecraft, assemble large-size structures under an operator’s control, inspect the station’s condition, service and repair structural elements and onboard systems. The robots will also be able to assist cosmonauts in spacewalks, he said.

"The tasks of intra-vehicular activity are as follows: autonomously conducting routine maintenance and repair operations, inspecting the state of modules (structural elements, onboard systems, emergency and dangerous facilities) inside the ROS, providing assistance to cosmonauts," the executive director elaborated.

The future Russian orbital station may also require robots to provide psychological and information support to cosmonauts’ activity, he said.

Russia’s Energia Space Rocket Corporation (part of the state space corporation Roscosmos) unveiled a mock-up of the future national orbital station at the Army international arms show on August 15-21. The station’s mock-up consisted of a base, research/energy, gateway target-oriented and production modules and service platforms.