BAIKONUR. Oct 23 (Interfax-AVN) - The astronaut to go on a year-long mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015 will be named in November, Federal Space Agency head Vladimir Popovkin said after the successful launch of a Soyuz-FG space rocket on Tuesday.
"We discussed that with the NASA administration yesterday. The choice will be made in October and the name of the astronaut to go on a year-long mission in 2015 will be announced in November," he said.
Popovkin also said he "had just spoken to the astronauts after the spacecraft separation. They are all right."
"It is a blustery day at the Space Center. The guys rode quick as the wind," Popovkin said.
"The launch was normal," he stressed.