Candidates for Belarusian cosmonauts to be approved with partners in ISS - Roscosmos
MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) - Russia's Roscosmos state-run space corporation will soon begin the approval of candidates for cosmonauts from Belarus with its partners in the International Space Station (ISS), the corporation said on Thursday.
"In accordance with the established procedure, in agreement with the Belarusian side, the state corporation will soon begin the approval process of the candidates for cosmonauts selected by Belarus with its international partners in the International Space Station project," Roscosmos said.
The project of the Belarusian cosmonaut's research program has been drafted, it comprises nine activities in various sectors, it said.
The state corporation's press service said on Thursday that Roscosmos Director Yury Borisov visited a production site of Peleng JSC in Belarus and took part in a meeting with its senior officials.
"The implementation of the project of creating a Russian-Belarusian high-definition Earth remote sensing spacecraft and space system based on it was discussed during Yury Borisov's working meeting with Chairman of the Presidium of the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences Vladimir Gusakov with participation of State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev," the press service said.
Additionally, the implementation of the current programs and drafting upcoming scientific and technical programs of the Union State in the space sector, as well as the joint project to fly a Belarusian cosmonaut to the Russian segment of the ISS, including the research program of the flight, were also addressed at the meeting, it said.
"Your girls [candidates for cosmonauts] have passed the selection, and we are ready to welcome them and provide them with a full cycle of training," the Roscosmos press service quoted Borisov as saying.
On February 22, Roscosmos Executive Director for Manned Space Programs Sergei Krikalev said that the first flight of a Belarusian female cosmonaut to the ISS was moved from the fall of 2023 to the beginning of 2024 due to an emergency involving the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft.
Roscosmos said on December 28, 2022 that the main medical commission had selected six candidates from Belarus for a space flight. Recommendations for the selection of the main cosmonaut and backup were sent to the Belarusian side.
Cosmonaut Training Center head Maxim Kharlamov said on December 24 the name of the candidate from Belarus for a space flight and their backup will become known in 2023.