Russian cosmonaut Prokopyev becomes ISS commander

WASHINGTON. Oct 12 (Interfax) - Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Prokopyev has become the new commander of the International Space Station (ISS), the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is broadcasting the ISS command transfer ceremony.

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who has been in command of the station since September 28 of this year, handed the command over to the Russian cosmonaut.

Cristoforetti handed over a symbolic key to the station, emphasizing that she could not have imagined a better person to pass the command on to, noting Prokopyev's leadership style and thanking the international partners for their work.

For his part, Prokopyev thanked the entire crew of Expedition 67 of the ISS and wished the crew of the Crew Dragon-4 spacecraft a safe return to Earth.

Cristoforetti, who has spent nearly six months on the station, will leave on Thursday night, Moscow time, along with the crew of the Crew Dragon-4 mission, namely, NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins. The spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida on Friday.

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada and Francisco Rubio, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonauts Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Anna Kikina will continue working on the station after the spacecraft departs.