ISS-61/62/EP-19 crews continue preflight preparations at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The prime crew includes Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka (commander), NASA astronaut Jessica Meir (flight engineer) and space flight participant Hazza Al Mansouri (UAE). The backup crew consists of Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov, NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn and space flight participant Sultan Al Neyadi (UAE).

On September 18, 2019 the media representatives witnessed the training process at the test and training facility of Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center complex. The journalists have a unique opportunity to communicate with the cosmonauts and astronauts, ask questions and get their impressions before the “business trip” to Earth’s orbit.

The crews’ working day started with the Soyuz MS crewed vehicle manual berthing simulator training, after that they went on to studying the onboard documentation. The crews also took practice in spaceflight factors: vestibular tolerance in the Coriolis acceleration seat and hemodynamic training.

Physical training is also an inherent part of the preparation process. Being supervised by the medics, the cosmonauts and astronauts take training on the running machine, stationary bicycle and weight machines. The tight schedule includes time for rest as well – playing chess, billiard or table tennis. The crews took part in longstanding tradition - planting the trees in the Cosmonaut Alley, which was started by the Earth’s first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

The Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with the Soyuz MS-15 is scheduled to launch on September 25, 2019 from the launch pad No.1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Gagarin’s Start).