Expedition 63 arrives in Baikonur to blast off to ISS in April

BAIKONUR. KAZINFORM - March 24 the main and backup crews of expedition 63 to the ISS arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazinform correspondent reports.

Expedition 63, the next mission to the International Space Station, will launch the main and backup crews from Baikonur spaceport on April 9. Heading up to the ISS, the crew includes Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin, Ivan Wagner and American astronaut Christopher Cassidy. The backup crew consists of Russians Sergei Ryzhikov, Andrei Babkin and American Stephen Bowen.

Over two weeks the cosmonauts and astronauts will live in a test educational complex of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Tomorrow, the ISS-63 crews will visit the first training session at the spaceport. The launch of the manned MS-16 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome is scheduled for April 9, 2020. The planned flight duration is 196 days.