A little while ago the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and after a little more than six hours reached the International Space Station with three astronauts on board. In the period preceding a launch, it’s normal for astronauts and cosmonauts to remain in quarantine. In this case it was also extended to the personnel who managed the launch, with limits to the people who could have been in Baikonur.
The three new members of the crew of the International Space Station, who complete the crew of Expedition 62 are:
Anatoly Alekseyevich Ivanishin. Born on January 15, 1969 in Irkutsk, in the then USSR and today in Russia, he graduated from the Chernigov Higher Military Aviation School for Pilots. After serving for several years in the Russian air force, in 2003 he was accepted as a candidate cosmonaut. Between September 2011 and April 2012 he already served on the International Space Station as part of Expedition 29/30 and Between July and October 30, 2016 of Expedition48/49. He’s married and has a son.
Ivan Viktorovitch Vagner. Born on July 10, 1985 in Severoonezhsk, in the then USSR and today in Russia, in 2008 he earned a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering. At that time he worked as an engineer-designer for JSC Klimov and subsequently for RKK Energija. In 2010 he was selected as a cosmonaut candidate. He’s on his first space mission.
Christopher Cassidy. Born on January 4, 1970 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA, has been a Navy SEAL for ten years. During this time he also served in Afghanistan. In 2004 he was selected by NASA and in 2009 was part of the Space Shuttle Endeavour crew during mission STS-127. Cassidy made three “spacewalks” to complete the installation of the components of the International Space Station’s Kibo Japanese Experiment Module. Between March and September 2013 he already served on the Station as part of Expedition 35/36.
After the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft’s docking with the International Space Station’s Poisk module, the procedures that will lead to the opening of the hatch begun. The new crew members will enter the Station, where they will be greeted by their colleagues with a short welcome ceremony.
Expedition 62 will continue for a short time as the other three crew members are scheduled to depart the Station on April 17, leaving a reduced crew on board again. The Expedition 63 crew is expected to be completed with the first real mission of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, but there’s still no certainty that it will happen in May.
