The Russian members of the crew of the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft, which is expected to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 9, will be replaced by a backup crew, Sergey Krikalev, executive director of Roscosmos for piloted programs, said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th February, 2020) The Russian members of the crew of the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft, which is expected to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 9, will be replaced by a backup crew, Sergey Krikalev, executive director of Roscosmos for piloted programs, said on Wednesday.
"I regret to say that in light of medical indicators, we are likely to have a crew change now. The crew that was preparing for the flight, which is scheduled for April 9, will probably be replaced with a backup," Krikalev told reporters.
According to Krikalev, instead of Commnder Nikolai Tikhonov and Flight Engineer Andrei Babkin, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner will fly to the ISS, while the fate of US member of the crew, Christopher Cassidy, has not been discussed with NASA yet.
The executive director added that the crew replacement will not affect the launch of the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft.
"April the 9th remains, the date remains the same," he said.
A Russian space industry source earlier told Sputnik that Nikolai Tikhonov had been injured and may not be able to travel to space this time.
