Russia to Fly US Astronauts to ISS Ahead of Schedule – Source

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia will fulfil a contract on flying the US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and bringing them back on the Russian Soyuz manned spacecraft in December of 2019, a month and a half ahead of schedule, a source in the Russian space industry told Sputnik.

“The previous version of the ISS flight program provided for the return of foreign astronauts, under a contract with the US side, from the station to Earth on the Soyuz spacecraft on February 6, 2020.

Now, this deadline has shifted to December 18, 2019 in connection with the refinement of the ISS flight program,” the source said.

READ MORE: Over 10 Liters of Water Leaked From Space Toilet at US Segment at ISS — Source

Last year, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said that Russia's contractual obligations to the United States to transport US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) will expire in April 2019.