The next Russian manned spacecraft “Soyuz MS-24” will leave for the International Space Station on September 15, reports “RIA Novosti” with reference to the press service of the “Roscosmos” state corporation.

“The “Soyuz MS-24” manned spacecraft with “Roscosmos” cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara should fly to the station on September 15”, - the Russian state corporation said in a statement.

It is noted that such a decision was made at a meeting of the state commission on Friday.

Deputy Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center, commander of the “Roscosmos” cosmonaut corps Oleg Kononenko, together with Roscosmos cosmonaut Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Laurel O'Hara, was supposed to go to the ISS on March 16, 2023 on the “Soyuz MS-23” spacecraft. However, due to the depressurization of the outer contour of the radiator of the thermal control system of the “Soyuz MS-22” spacecraft, the state commission decided to lower the damaged spacecraft in an unmanned mode, and cosmonauts Sergei Prokopiev, Dmitry Petelin and astronaut Frank Rubio, whose mission was extended, to return on the “Soyuz MS-23” spacecraft.

Now the flight of Kononenko, Chub and O'Hara is planned on the “Soyuz MS-24” spacecraft as part of the ISS-70 expedition.

Oleg Kononenko was born in 1964 in the Turkmen city of Chardzhou (now Turkmenabat), where he graduated from secondary school № 15. In 1988 he graduated from the Kharkov Aviation Institute with a degree in aircraft engines.

In 2008, Kononenko made his first space flight to the International Space Station (ISS). In total, he made four flights to the space station. On December 11, 2018, Kononenko went into outer space for the fifth time to inspect the skin of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, the duration of the spacewalk was 7 hours and 45 minutes. The total duration of the five spacewalks was 32 hours and 13 minutes.

Hero of Russia (2009) and Turkmenistan (2019) Oleg Kononenko is a holder of one of the highest awards of independent neutral Turkmenistan - the Order of the “Star of the President”.