ISS-46/47 mission prime and back-up crews started passing final prelaunch trainings at Baikonur spaceport. The prime crew includes Roscosmos cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra and ESA astronaut Timothy Peake, the back-up crew comprises Roscosmos cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins.
Yesterday crew members arrived in Baikonur, cosmonauts and GCTC specialists responsible for preflight trainings stayed in GCTC training centre where they will be implementing preflight program for two weeks.
On Tuesday, according to the preflight trainings schedule the crews had first Soyuz TMA-19M fit-check in the integration building of pad 254.
In the course of this training the cosmonauts had introduction briefing on safety measures and operational procedures and checked the equipment.
“Yesterday the crew saw the spacecraft for the first time. They have already completed the fit check as wearing spacesuits and without it. During the second fit-check they will have to place cargoes onboard”, – said the crew’s instructor Konstantin Valkov.
The launch is scheduled for December 15, 2015.
Photo credit: GCTC
