The Russian members of the main crew of the “Soyuz MS-16” manned spacecraft, Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolay Tikhonov and Andrey Babkin, will be replaced by backups due to medical reasons.
The positions of the commander and flight engineer of the “Soyuz MS-16” spacecraft will now be taken by the cosmonauts of Roscosmos Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Wagner.
The changes will affect only the Russian part of the crew, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy continues to prepare for the flight in accordance with the established plan.
The launch of the “Soyuz-2.1a” launch vehicle with the “Soyuz MS-16” manned spacecraft and members of the long-term expedition ISS-63 is scheduled for April 9 this year from launch pad № 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
