SpaceX Says Grateful to NASA, Russia for Opportunity to Fly Astronauts to ISS

TITUSVILLE (Sputnik) - Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs at SpaceX said in a press briefing on Monday that they are thankful to NASA, Russia and ESA for a chance to fly astronauts to the International Space Station.

"As always we're grateful for the opportunity for NASA and ESA and our partners in Russia to fly astronauts to the International Space Station," Reed said.

The Crew-5 flight scheduled for Wednesday will carry NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, who will serve as mission commander and pilot, respectively, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, who will serve as mission specialists.

In July, Roscosmos and NASA signed an agreement on integrated flights of cosmonauts and astronauts to the ISS. As part of the agreement, the Soyuz-2.1a rocket with a Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft was launched from Baikonur to the ISS on September 21 carrying another crew including Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin as well as NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio. The only female cosmonaut at Roscosmos, Kikina, will fly to the ISS on the US-made Crew Dragon spacecraft on Wednesday.

The agreement provides for two more flights of Russian and US spacecraft with international crews in 2023 and 2024.