posted 10-26-2021 12:00 PM               

Dmitry Rogozin, director general of the Russian space agency, said in a press conference during the 72nd International Astronautical Congress here Oct. 25 that he no longer had reservations about flying cosmonauts on Crew Dragon as that spacecraft nears the end of its second long-duration mission at the International Space Station.

"In our view, SpaceX has already acquired enough experience for us to be able to put our cosmonauts on Crew Dragon," he said through a translator.

He said the topic would come up during a meeting with NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy scheduled for Oct. 26 during the conference. "I believe we will be in a position to discuss candidates who may be flying to the space station on board the Crew Dragon — Russian cosmonauts, and American astronauts who will be flying to the space station on Russian spacecraft."