By Manal Abdel Fattah
Ambassador Nazih El-Nagary, Egyptian Ambassador to Moscow, met with Mr. Yuri Borisev, Director General of the Russian Space Corporation “Roscosmos”.
The meeting discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of outer space exploration.
The Egyptian Ambassador stressed Egypt’s interest in building cadres in the field of using outer space, through the Egyptian Space Agency, and Egypt’s aspiration to cooperate with Russia, given its experience and capabilities in this important field.
In another context, the Russian space corporation Roscosmos reported the completion of the process of developing a model of the new manned spacecraft that will be used to transport astronauts to the International and Russian space stations.
A model of the vehicle’s engine and the capsule that returns the astronauts to Earth has also been prepared. According to Roscosmos, the size of the vehicle, engine and capsule perfectly matches its real dimensions, and its ability to resist vibration and atmospheric tests will now be tested using a helicopter.
A statement published by Roscosmos on its website stated that a design project for the vehicle was developed based on an agreement concluded by the Russian government with the Energia space rocket company within the framework of the Russian space station design project. The final approval of the design project will be made by the Scientific Council of the Roscosmos State Space Corporation.
The Foundation reported the conclusion of the process of forming the list of Russian astronauts who will undertake space trips to the Russian Space Station, noting that the Foundation received 263 applications to participate in the competition, including 69 women, 63 military personnel, and 45 workers and employees in the Russian space and missile sector. 41 candidates passed all the examinations, including 33 men and 8 women. Of them, 20 male and female candidates were selected who will join the Russian astronaut team.
A Roscosmos spokesman said that the process of forming the list of new astronauts concluded on December 20.
