KOROLYOV, Moscow region. Dec 17 (Interfax-AVN) - Mukhtar Aymakhanov, who was supposed to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the now defunct Kazakh space program, will soon be included in Russia's cosmonaut unit with the support of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
"If you do not mind, I will issue a decision to include this candidate in the cosmonaut unit, where he will continue his training. In the future, he will be considered as a candidate for a space mission," the director of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Oleg Ostapenko, said.
Ostapenko was speaking to Rogozin during a session addressing the further development of Russia's space rocket industry, which was held at the Mission Control Center, located in the town of Korolyov outside Moscow, on Tuesday.
"I have no objections. I can only support this initiative," Rogozin said.
The Roscosmos deputy head, cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov, introduced Aymakhanov, saying that he "is highly motivated and looks forward to" joining the Russian cosmonaut unit.
Lonchakov also said that the shutdown of Kazakhstan's space program in 2009 stopped Aymakhanov from flying to the ISS.
Aymakhanov received Russian citizenship in 2012.