Cosmonaut Fedyayev to return to Earth on board Crew Dragon spacecraft in Aug-Sept 2023

WASHINGTON. March 21 (Interfax) - The Crew Dragon-6 spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Andrei Frolov is scheduled to return from the International Space Station (ISS) in August-September, Crew Dragon-6 commander, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen said told journalists when asked about the date of the return to Earth.

The Cargo Dragon-6 spacecraft docked with the ISS on March 3, 2023. It brought NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi and Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev to the station. The crew will spend six months on the ISS.

In July 2022, Roscosmos and NASA signed a cross-flight agreement under which three Russian cosmonauts will fly on board Crew Dragon spacecraft and three U.S. astronauts on board Russia's Soyuz MS manned spacecraft to the ISS in 2022-2024.

The current agreement stipulates three such exchanges of cosmonauts and astronauts, but may be extended.