On October 11, Soyuz-2.1a booster was rolled out from the integration building and installed onto the launchpad #31. On October 14 the booster will insert into the orbit Soyuz MS-17 manned vehicle with an international crew comprising Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins.

Aaccording to the ISS flight program next Wednesday Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft will be launched from Baikonur by Soyuz-2.1a booster. On October 07 the crews conducted final fit-check of the spacecraft at the pad #254 of Baikonur launchsite.

On Sunday, September 27, ISS-64 mission crews both prime and back-up left for Baikonur from Chkalovsky airfield located in Moscow region by two different planes. In several hours the planes successfully landed at Krainy airfield.

Soyuz MS-17 prime and back-up crews successfully passed exams in GCTC, - press-office representative reported. “Both prime comprising Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins and back-up crew including Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Bovitsky and Pyotr Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hai successfully passed two-weeks long examination session getting an “excellent” mark”, - the source stated.

The next spacewalk of Russian cosmonauts from the International Space Station, which is planned before the end of 2020, will be performed from the new module for the first time, a spokesman for the Roscosmos press service said. Currently, exits under the Russian program are carried out from the Pirs module. In 2021, it should be separated from the station and de-orbited to make room for the Science module. After that, exits will be conducted from the "Search" module.

On Thursday, September 10, 2020, specialists of the Roscosmos State Corporation accomplished ISS orbit adjustment maneuver with the help of Progress MS-14 cargo vehicle.

Russia offers space tourists flights to the International Space Station under an expanded program with an extended stay on the ISS - up to one month, said Dmitry Loskutov, General Director of Glavkosmos (a Roscosmos enterprise).

In order to form ballistic conditions before the launch of the Soyuz MS-17 manned transport spacecraft, the next correction of the International Space Station orbit is planned for September 10, 2020.

A month and a half before the launch, the main and backup crews of the 64th long-term expedition to the International Space Station began practical exams at the Yu.A. Gagarin. Already in three weeks, the "Favorites" and "Kazbeks" (call signs of the main and backup crews, respectively) will have complex examination trainings, which will complete the stage of pre-flight preparation before leaving for Baikonur.

Training in the TBK-50 pressure chamber allows cosmonauts to develop the skill of assessing the fit of a spacesuit, evaluate the work of the thermal control system under different physical loads, and undergo psychological adaptation to the forthcoming work in outer space. For operators, this is a unique opportunity, being on Earth, to gain experience in a spacesuit that fully matches the flight suit - exactly the same as on board the International Space Station.