The flight duration will be 12 days
MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. The flight of the Soyuz MS-20 manned spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) will take place according to a four-turn (six-hour) scheme. This was reported to TASS by the head of the ballistics department of the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (part of Roscosmos), Rafail Murtazin.
"Japanese tourists will fly according to the four-turn scheme," Murtazin said.
According to the ballistics expert, to use the two-turn scheme, it is necessary to change the maneuvering plan to ensure the phase angle and landing conditions of the ship with tourists, which may require an undesirable decrease in the altitude of the ISS orbit.
The launch of the Soyuz MS-20 manned spacecraft with two space tourists is scheduled for December 8, 2021. The flight duration will be 12 days. The Soyuz MS-20 will be managed by Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, and Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and his business assistant Yozo Hirano will also be on board. The three-month preparation for the flight directly at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center is already underway.