Russia Consolidates Cosmonaut Corps, Names Two New Trainees

Expedition 20 - the first six-strong International Space Station crew - assembled in the Zvezda module for the welcoming ceremony immediately after hatch opening following the arrival of ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk with the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft on 29 May 2009. Credit: ESA

Officials decided this week to consolidate Russia’s cosmonaut corps under the nation’s space agency, Roscosmos. Russia currently has three teams of cosmonauts under the control of the Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Centre, RSC Energia, and the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

During a meeting chaired by Roskosmos Head Anatoly Perminov on Wednesday, the Cosmonaut Selection Interagency Board also named two cosmonaut candidates of RSC Energia: Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Andrey Babkin. They will undergo training at the Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Centre. The board also made several decisions about future ISS crew assignments.