September 19 saw the first preflight training session of the Soyuz MS-19 crewed spacecraft prime and backup crews under the program of the 66th long-term expedition to the International Space Station.

In accordance with the training schedule in the morning both crews arrived at the Site 254 assembly and testing facility for the first training session inside the spacecraft. Under the supervision of Roscosmos, the crew tried on Sokol KV-2 spacesuits, leak tested them and took their seats in the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft. After that they familiarized themselves with the cargo placement in the living compartment and the descent capsule, worked with the equipment, with which they will work onboard the International Space Station.

Further activities of the expedition participants include training on manual docking of the Soyuz MS crewed spacecraft to the Russian segment of the ISS, checking stowage with scientific equipment for space experiments, practicing ballistic operations and other preparatory procedures. The crews will continue prelaunch training at the Test Training Center.

The Soyuz-2.1a rocket is scheduled to launch on October 5, 2021. The International Space Station Expedition 66 prime crew includes Anton Shkaplerov (commander), Klim Shipenko and Yulia Peresild (spaceflight participants), their backups are Oleg Artemyev (commander), Alexey Dudin and Alyona Mordovina (spaceflight participants).