NASA chief arrives at Baikonur space center on his first visit in eight years

Space programsNASA chief arrives at Baikonur space center on his first visit in eight years Jared Isaacman also met with Roscosmos CEO Dmitry BakanovMOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov met with Jared Isaacman, the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), ahead of a meeting of the State Commission for the 75th International Space Station (ISS) mission in what is the first visit by a NASA chief to the Baikonur space center in eight years, Russia’s state-run space corporation said in a statement. "NASA administrator Jared Isaacman will attend the launch of a Soyuz MS-29 crewed freight spacecraft. Apart from watching the launch of the next crew involving Heroes of Russia, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, and NASA astronaut Anil Menon, a meeting between Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov and Jared Isaacman is expected to take place. Jared Isaacman’s visit to the Baikonur space center is the first in eight years by a NASA chief," Roscosmos announced earlier. The meeting preceded the State Commission for the 75th ISS mission that assigned the prime and backup composition of the Soyuz MS-29 crew lift-off from Baikonur scheduled for July 14. Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina and NASA astronaut Anil Menon were assigned primary crew seats, while Russia’s Konstantin Borisov and Dmitry Petelin and the United States’ Deniz Burnham were designated as the backup crew. "We are here today, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude to everybody who gives us work, who prepares the spacecraft and the crew, and who trains specialists," Kikina told the commission meeting. "We are grateful to all our colleagues and partners across the big and beautiful world that we share," she added. 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