State Corporation Roscosmos is returning to the practice of international launches, and the next flight will take place on April 9, 2021. Together with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hai will go to the International Space Station.
Interdepartmental Commission for the selection of cosmonauts and their appointment to the crews of manned spacecraft and stations, based on the existing obligations of the State Corporation Roscosmos under the Agreement with Axiom Space, Inc. on the implementation of a space flight of an American professional astronaut on board the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, made a decision to withdraw from the main composition of the long-term expedition ISS-65 Roskosmos cosmonaut Sergei Korsakov. Instead, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hai was included in the prime crew as Flight Engineer-2.
The change in the composition of the crew was carried out at the urgent request of the American side. NASA voiced its wishes only at the end of 2020, and therefore the Russian side had to change the already agreed flight program. Roscosmos agrees to this decision, reaffirming its commitment to joint agreements and the spirit of sharing the International Space Station.
The replacement was also carried out in the backup crews of the ISS-65 Expedition. By the same decision, Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitry Petelin was removed from the backup, and NASA astronaut Anne McClain will take his place. The flight of the Russian manned spacecraft Soyuz MS-18 under the ISS program is scheduled for April 9, 2021. The tradition of international crews, which has existed for more than twenty years, will be continued again.