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Crews of Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft arrived at Baikonur

March 24, 2020

The prime an backup crews of Soyuz MS-16 manned transport spacecraft arrived to the Baikonur launch site to complete their pre-flight training under the 62/63 expeditions to the International Space Station (ISS). They were met at the airfield Krainii by members of the Technical Management and the State Commission.

The prime crew of Soyuz MS-16 consists of commander Anatoly Ivanishin (Roscosmos), flight-engineer 1 Ivan Vagner (Roscosmos) and flight engineer 2 Christopher Cassidy (NASA). Their backups are Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Andrey Babkin and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen.

Commanders of the crews reported on their readiness for pre-flight training and acceptance of Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft. Having made their report to the management the crews set off for the Test and Training Complex of the Yu.Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, where they are to receive a complete cycle of pre-flight training sessions and undergo daily medical checkups.

Tomorrow the crews will receive the first training inside the spacecraft. During the “first fit-check” they are to practice a nominal procedure of on-the-spot responses inside the descent module, familiarize themselves with the onboard documentation and test the onboard systems.

The launch of the Soyuz-2.1а launch vehicle with Soyuz MS-16 to the ISS is scheduled for April 9, 2020 from the Baikonur Launch Site.