Unmanned spacecraft successfully docks at space station on second try

Aug. 27 (UPI) -- On its second try, Russia's pilot-less Soyuz MS-14 successfully docked on the International Space Station's aft-facing Zvezda module. The spacecraft attached to ISS at 11:08 p.m. ET on Monday, as the space station passed 250 miles above Eastern Mongolia.

The first attempt at docking happened on Monday, but the effort had to be aborted after the Kurs' automated rendezvous system experienced a technical glitch.

To ensure the second attempt would be a success, Expedition 60 crew members relocated the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft on Sunday night.

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov piloted the MS-13 capsule during Sunday night's maneuver. He was accompanied by Luca Parmitano and Andrew Morgan. After backing away from the Zvezda port, Skvortsov flew the spacecraft around ISS to approach the Poisk docking port from above.

As the unmanned spacecraft waited to make its second docking attempt, it trailed ISS at a distance of 160 miles. On Monday night, the probe, which is carrying a Russian humanoid robot named Fedor, fired its engines and slowly made its way toward the space station.

With the docking complete, the astronauts will now unload 1,500 pounds of supplies carried by MS-14, as well as the Skybot F-850 humanoid robot.

"The docking of the unpiloted Soyuz sets the stage for the robotic release of the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft Tuesday morning after a four-week stay at the station," NASA announced in an update. "The Dragon is filled with almost 2,700 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo."