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Nikolai Tikhonov exits cosmonaut team

Test cosmonaut Nikolai Tikhonov terminated his contract with Roscosmos on July 31, 2020.

Tikhonov was selected to the cosmonaut team in 2006. In June 2009 after taking the general space training course, he was named test cosmonaut, later he trained as part of the specialization and enhancement according to the International Space Station program.

Staring in June 2015 until October 2016 Tikhonov trained as the backup crewmember of the ISS-49/50 crew being the Soyuz MS-02 crewed spacecraft and the ISS-49/50 flight engineer. In December 2017 – April 2018 he trained as the ISS-57/58 prime crewmember as the Soyuz MS-10 crewed spacecraft flight engineer. The crew composition was eventually changed due to the ISS flight program changes.

In June 2018 – February 2020 the cosmonaut trained as the ISS-63 crewmember to become the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft commander and the ISS-63 flight engineer. In February – July 2020 trained as part of the specialization and enhancement according to the International Space Station program.

Nikolai Tikhonov decided to leave the cosmonaut team due to new data on his health condition.

Currently, Roscosmos cosmonaut team includes 31 members with 23 active cosmonauts and 8 candidate test cosmonauts.