Video: Soyuz MS-01 leaves the space station for landing

An unpiloted Russian Soyuz spacecraft, with a humanoid robot in the commander’s seat instead of a cosmonaut, is scheduled for liftoff late Wednesday (U.S. time) from Kazakhstan on a test flight to verify the spaceship’s compatibility with the new-generation Soyuz-2.1a rocket set to begin launching crews to the International Space Station next year.

SpaceX sent a cargo capsule with nearly 5,500 pounds of experiments and supplies on a three-day trip to the International Space Station on Sunday, firing the automated spaceship through low-hanging clouds and into orbit from the same launch pad where Apollo astronauts began voyages to the moon.

SpaceX’s 28th resupply mission to the International Space Station lifted off Monday from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying new solar arrays, fresh food, and experiments to sustain research and upgrade the power system on the orbiting laboratory.