Russian Crew Swap and Coronavirus Concerns Weigh On Upcoming Launch to Space Station Written 16 March 2020
A Soyuz rocket on the launch pad in Kazakhstan in July 2019. | NASA
SPACE reported that “with the next Soyuz mission preparing to launch to the International Space Station, the crew has passed its final exams. But, while NASA’s space station manager has made assurances that an earlier swap of the two Russian cosmonauts on the crew should pose no issues, concerns surrounding coronavirus will likely alter the mission’s standard preflight quarantine.” With the “current concerns across the globe surrounding the spread of coronavirus,” Russian “officials had suggested that this preflight quarantine might be extended and start earlier.” Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner will be joined by U.S. astronaut Chris Cassidy for the launch of the Soyuz MS-16 scheduled for April 9.
Full Story (SPACE)