For the first time, a Russian cosmonaut will be able to fly on the American SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) in the second half of 2022, SpaceNews writes .
The American edition admits that this will happen as part of the Crew-5 mission. It is noted that according to the cross-flight program, the American cosmonaut will fly on the Russian Soyuz MS spacecraft to the ISS also in the fall of 2022.
"This would ensure the presence of both countries at the station and the ability to service their separate systems," the newspaper writes.
Thus, SpaceNews commented on the statement of Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin, according to which the American company "SpaceX has gained enough experience to be able to send representatives of our crews on their ships."
In April, Steve Yurchik, holding the position of acting head of NASA, in an interview with Spaceflight Now, did not rule out that the first flight of a Russian cosmonaut on the American spacecraft Crew Dragon and Starline would not take place before 2022.
Ivan Potapov