Russian Cosmonauts Finish Training On Work In Space From US Segment Of ISS - Commander

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2023) Russian cosmonaut Nikolai Chub and Oleg Kononenko, who is the cosmonauts' team commander, have finished their training on a possible spacewalk from the US segment of the International Space Station (ISS), Kononenko has told Sputnik.

"Training as a part of the addendum to a contract with NASA is already underway. We started with my crew. Nikolai Chub has already finished training on SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System, a robotic arm of the US segment of the station), and I have been trained on going into outer space. We are certified in these activities, passed the exams, and are fully prepared," Kononenko said on the eve of Cosmonautics Day, which is celebrated in Russia and some other post-Soviet republics on April 12.

According to Kononenko, such training is only useful if there is only a crew of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft aboard the ISS with only one American astronaut and there is an urgent need to perform tasks on the US segment of the station.

The US administration is planning to have Russian cosmonauts trained on work in outer space outside the US segment of the station through 2030.

In early 2023, Russian space corporation Roscosmos said it had signed an addendum to its contract with NASA to train Russian cosmonauts on the work in outer space and with US robotic equipment.

Usually, Russian cosmonauts go on spacewalks in pairs, while American astronauts are sometimes joined by European or Japanese astronauts. During the deployment of the ISS from 2022 to 2009, Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts had over 20 joint spacewalks.