In this photo taken on Friday, July 26, 2019, and distributed by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Fedor robot is seen before being loaded into a Soyuz capsule to be launched by a new Soyuz 2.1a rocket from the launch pad at Russia’s space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The new Russian rocket, that is expected to replace the current model sending manned missions into space, blasted off Thursday, carrying a Soyuz capsule with a humanoid robot that will be tested in spaceflight conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)

In this photo taken on Friday, July 26, 2019, and distributed by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Fedor robot is seen before being loaded into a Soyuz capsule to be launched by a new Soyuz 2.1a rocket from the launch pad at Russia’s space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The new Russian rocket, that is expected to replace the current model sending manned missions into space, blasted off Thursday, carrying a Soyuz capsule with a humanoid robot that will be tested in spaceflight conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has sent a humanoid robot to the International Space Station as part of tests on a new rocket that is expected to replace the current vehicle.

The Soyuz capsule, which typically carries a space crew, blasted off from the Russia-leased launch pad in Kazakhstan at 8.38 a.m. (0338 GMT) on Thursday carrying the Fedor robot. The capsule was launched by a new Soyuz 2.1a rocket which has only been used to launch unmanned vehicles. The new booster rocket is expected to replace the Soyuz-FG rocket next year.

The robot, which was in the commander’s seat, holding a small Russian flag in its right hand, sent out a tweet shortly after the orbiting saying that the first part of onboard tests went as planned.