On Tuesday, September 18, RSC Energia (which is included in State Corporation Roscosmos) held a session of the Council of Chief Designers for the Russian Segment (RS) of the International Space Station (ISS).

After opening remarks by General Designer of RSC Energia Evgeny Mikrin, the Council of Chief Designers reviewed the launch readiness of the new-series Crew Transportation Spacecraft (CTS) Soyuz MS-10 and launch vehicle Soyuz-FG. Also discussed was the readiness of the ISS, of the launch and range facilities, equipment and personnel of LOCT and MCC, search and rescue vehicles, crew medical support, and of the Expedition crews for the upcoming work.

The head of the RSC Energia Project Management Office Igor Konstandi reported on the steps taken to implement the program of the ISS space transportation support, on the progress of preparations for launch of the CTS Soyuz MS-10, and on the readiness of the systems of Soyuz MS-08 for completion of its mission.

RSC Energia first deputy general designer for flight operations and testing of rocket and space systems Vladimir Soloviev presented the ISS mission results and status of its systems, and the results of scientific experiments and further work plans.

Vladimir Soloviev summed up the results of the program of scientific and applied research of the ISS-56 Expedition. Speaking about the scope of the applied science experiments of the upcoming ISS-57 Expedition, he said that altogether there are 50 experiments planned under the Russian program of applied science research (including those that are to be conducted jointly with NASA and ESA), out of which 44 space experiments involve crew participation. The planned number of space experiment sessions (including those that are automated) is 252 sessions in the fields of: Earth and space studies, space exploration technologies, humans in space, and other experiments.

Vladimir Soloviev pointed out that the loss of pressure integrity of the station had been repaired, the nominal pressure restored, CTS Soyuz MS-09 cleared for continued mission as a part of the ISS RS and for performing its functions as the crew rescue vehicle.

He pointed out that the ISS RS resources are sufficient for carrying out the program of ISS-57, and the ground facilities and mission control personnel are ready for the landing of Soyuz MS-08 and the launch of Soyuz MS-10.

Reports on the readiness of all the systems of Soyuz MS-10 and the ISS RS were made by chief designers, responsible representatives of RSC Energia and organizations involved in the ISS program.

A conclusion was reached that MCC-M assets and personnel were ready for the launch of CTS Soyuz MS-10; a report was made on the readiness of the search and rescue assets. A representative of the Institute for Bio-Medical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported on the health status of the crews that are currently working onboard the ISS and those that are undergoing training for their mission. A representative of the Cosmonaut Training Center confirmed that crews are ready for the program of upcoming activities onboard the ISS.

Based on the results of the session, the Council of Chief Designers approved the following RSC Energia proposals:

- to return on October 4, 2018, on the manned spacecraft Soyuz MS-08 the crew of ISS-55/56 consisting of three crewmembers: Oleg Artemiev, Richard Arnold and Andrew Feustel;

- to prepare for launch on October 11, 2018, on the CTS Soyuz MS-10, and deliver to the ISS the crew of Expedition ISS-57/58 consisting of two crewmembers: Alexei Ovchinin and Nick Hague;

- to clear the ISS RS for the next phase of the ISS operation.

In conclusion, the general designer of RSC Energia Yevgeni Mikrin thanked for taking part in the proceedings the representatives of State Corporation Roscosmos, space agencies from abroad, companies in the rocket and space industry and some other organizations participating in the ISS program.