Lonchakov appointed acting chief of Russian Cosmonaut Training Center
MOSCOW. April 1 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) chief Oleg Ostapenko has appointed his advisor Yury Lonchakov acting chief of the Yury Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Zvyozdny Gorodok (Star City) outside Moscow, Roscosmos said in a statement available on its website.
Unofficial reports indicate that Lonchakov will likely be endorsed to head the Cosmonaut Training Center instead of Sergei Krikalyov, whose contract with Roscosmos had expired on March 27.
"The contract of employment with the Cosmonaut Training Center chief has expired. The contract with him has not been extended. Sergei Krikalyov is expected to be discharged from his job in three months, when his leave ends," a Roscosmos source had told Interfax-AVN earlier.