Posts: 575
From: Oregon
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 04-05-2020 10:56 AM               

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I understand that in 2017, Russia decided to reduce its crew presence on the International Space Station as a cost savings measure. This resulted in a two person crew flying on Soyuz MS-04 and a five-person Expedition 51 crew (and Peggy Whitson extending to Expedition 52).

Subsequent Soyuz missions (MS-06, MS-08), which normally would have had two Russians and one American were changed to have one Russian and two Americans. This resulted in the ISS having three Americans, two Russians, and one international crewmember and maintained the standard six-person crew.

I would assume this was all done based on a new contract between Russia and the USA. So, why did Soyuz MS-10 only have two crewmembers? Did whatever agreement they made that put three Americans on the station expire?

Posts: 43525
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-05-2020 11:16 AM               

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Nikolai Tikhonov had originally been assigned to fly with Aleksey Ovchinin and Nick Hague on Soyuz MS-10. He was removed from the flight in early 2018 after it became clear that the launch of the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module (MLM) would be further delayed.

Without the MLM installation work, Roscosmos decided it didn't need as many cosmonauts on the space station.

Posts: 575
From: Oregon
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 04-05-2020 12:29 PM               

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So had Nauka been launched, would we have seen the ISS return to the previous standard of three Russian, two American, and one international crewmembers?

Also, I know that Nauka has been delayed over and over again. What is the current status of it?

I know that Tikhonov has been assigned to Soyuz MS-04, MS-10, MS-15, MS-16 and is presently assigned to MS-17. I know that his removal from MS-04 was due to budgets, MS-10 was due to Nauka, and MS-15 was due to crew shuffling following MS-10. But, from what I have read he was pulled from MS-16 for medical reasons. Is he expected to fly on MS-17?

Posts: 43525
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

Posts: 575
From: Oregon
Registered: Feb 2003

Posts: 43525
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-05-2020 04:12 PM               

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Expedition 62, the current crew, has only three members: two USOS and one Russian. Expedition 63 will also only have three crew members, two Russians and one USOS.

The Expedition 62 and Expedition 63 crew members will share several days aboard the space station together in what is called a direct handover.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-2 is expected to arrive during Expedition 63, but as a flight test, its two crew members are not considered expedition crew members (despite spending two to three months aboard the station).

Expedition 64 will also be three crew members, two Russians and one USOS, until SpaceX's Crew-1 with four USOS crew members arrive.