MOSCOW, Jul 14< /strong> Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov left for the United States to undergo the final stage of training before flying to the International Space Station on the American spacecraft Crew Dragon, the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (CTC) reported on its telegram channel.
«Today, Konstantin Borisov is leaving for the United States for pre-launch preparations. The launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle with the Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled for August 15, 2023,» the CPC said in a statement.
The day before, the cosmonaut had a meeting with the head of the CTC Maxim Kharlamov and the staff of the Center, where the results of his training were summed up, as well as the results that the cosmonaut showed in the exam. Cosmonaut commander Oleg Kononenko, who will fly to the ISS on September 15 on the Soyuz MS-24, gave Borisov parting words and discussed with him the planning of the working day at the station and the preparation of scientific equipment for the arrival of the Soyuz MS-24.
In addition to Borisov, the crew of the Crew-7 mission includes NASA astronaut Jasmine Mogbeli, European Space Agency astronaut Dane Andreas Mogensen and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa.
The flight will be the fourth under the cross-flight agreement. The agreement between Roscosmos and NASA was signed in July 2022. The Russians, within the framework of the agreement, have already flown twice on American ships, the Americans on the Russian Soyuz — once. In September 2023, NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara will fly on the Soyuz MS-24. It is also planned that Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebyonkin will fly on Crew Dragon in February 2024.