On Baikonur, crews of the ISS-61/62 / EP-19 expeditions are preparing to launch.

The main crew – Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skrypochka, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and spaceflight participant from the UAE Hazza Al Mansouri, their backups – Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov, NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn and spaceflight participant from the UAE Sultan Al Neya.

On September 18, 2019, media representatives got informed about the process of their preparation in the test educational complex of the GCTC.

To the journalists was given a unique opportunity to communicate with cosmonauts and astronauts, ask them questions and ask about their impressions before a “business trip” to low Earth orbit.

The crew’s working day began with exercises on the simulator for manual docking of the “Soyuz MS” spacecraft to the Russian segment of the International Space Station, after which they went on to study flight documentation.

Practical preparation for the factors of space flight did not go unnoticed: tests for vestibular stability on the acceleration chair and hemodynamic training.

In addition, physical education classes are an integral part of training.

Under the supervision of doctors, cosmonauts and astronauts practice on a bicycle ergometer, and also work on power simulators.

The busy training schedule also has a place for relaxation: a game of chess, billiards or table tennis.

The crews also took part in the ceremony of planting trees on the Cosmonauts Alley – this is a long tradition, the beginning of which was laid by the first cosmonaut of the planet Yuri Gagarin.

The launch of the “Soyuz-FG” launch vehicle with the “Soyuz MS-15” spacecraft is scheduled for September 25, 2019 from the site № 1 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Gagarinsky launch pad).