Cosmonaut Fedyayev to quarantine for 2 weeks before flying to ISS on U.S. spaceship

WASHINGTON. Feb 13 (Interfax) - The Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev has embarked on a two-week quarantine before his flight to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission, the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said on Monday.

"NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev entered their official quarantine period beginning Sunday, February 12, in preparation for their flight to the International Space Station on NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission," the NASA website said.

"Spending the final two weeks before liftoff in quarantine will help ensure Crew-6 members are healthy, as well as protect the astronauts already on the space station."

SpaceX's Crew Dragon-6 ship with Fedyayev on board will be launched to the ISS atop a Falcon 9 launch vehicle from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A at 10:07 a.m. Moscow time February 26. In all, the crew will half a year aboard the ISS.

Two missions are being conducted under the agreement: Russia's Soyuz MS-22 operated by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio arrived at the station last September, and the U.S. Crew Dragon-5 spaceship transported Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the ISS in October 2022.