State Commission approves crew members of Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft at Baikonur
During the session, the members of the prime and backup crews of the Soyuz MS-18 manned spacecraft were approved. Russian Oleg Novitskiy and Petr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark T. Vande Hei are in the prime crew of the 65th expedition. Roscosmos astronauts Anton Shkaplerov, Oleg Artemev, and NASA astronaut Anne McClain make up the backup crew.
The Commission based on the reports made by the Roscosmos enterprises’ heads confirmed the full readiness of the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle and ground infrastructure for the upcoming launch under the ISS program.
Conferences with the members of both crews took place in an online format.
Notably, the liftoff of the Soyuz MS-18 manned spacecraft will be live-streamed, with many guests arrived in the Baikonur to observe the launch marking 60 years since the first man in space on site.
