During the space flight of filming crew in the framework of Challenge movie project one-person operation of Soyuz spacecraft was successfully tested. In the future all Russian spacecraft of Soyuz series will be modified to provide the cosmonauts this opportunity, – Cosmonaut corps commander Oleg Kononenko said.
“New Soyuz MS modification enables commander to control the spacecraft without flight engineer’s assistance. While the system is being tested the absence of flight engineer may be a bit uncomfortable for a commander as imposes additional responsibilities upon him. It is a very useful innovation”, – he stated.
According to Kononenko new Soyuz MS spacecrafts will be equipped with a special remote panel that enables spacecraft commander to accomplish the tasks instead of flight engineer.