Participants of the first Russian program to prepare for admission to the cosmonaut corps at MAI are already preparing for the second stage of testing. This was announced in an interview with TASS by Maxim Kharlamov, Head of the Y.A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Research Institute (CPC named after Y.A. Gagarin, part of Roscosmos).
According to him, about 70 people signed up for the country's first program of preliminary training for cosmonaut candidates. But this cannot be called "selection as cosmonaut candidates", rather it is "a preliminary stage of career guidance for students". Nevertheless, the selected contestants are expected in the spring of 2025 at the CPC for the second stage of testing.
This includes some tests that cosmonauts are subjected to - testing of physiological capabilities, checking the ability to study new disciplines and operator activities. Thus, those who want to get closer to space will understand what they need to improve in order to qualify for the title of professional cosmonauts in the future.
[...] In addition to the opportunity to pass the selection, they [cosmonaut candidates] must also meet other criteria: they must have certain professional experience, they must have worked for at least three years in the industry. It is desirable that they have some special skills - for example, parachute jumping, scuba diving training, perhaps some initial flight training. And this is exactly what they will be guided on here at the CPC, and then, in five or six years, we will be happy to wait for them to be selected. They will be understandable, familiar people to us, we will try to track their careers and professional fulfillment later.
The latest addition to the family of Russian cosmonauts appeared in May 2024. Following the results of the fourth open selection to the cosmonaut corps, Anastasia Burchuladze, Elchin Vakhidov, Vladimir Vorozhko and Alexander Zherebtsov were selected. They have been granted the status of cosmonaut candidates.
However, the newcomers are still far from the status of active cosmonauts. They will have to undergo a two-year initial general space training, which includes about 30-40 exams in various disciplines. Some of them are practical training, where you need to complete specific tasks. In general, it takes about six years to prepare one cosmonaut for flight.
Also, according to Kharlamov, when assigned to a new crew, the cosmonaut takes exams every time. This rule applies even if he has flight experience. Before each mission, the cosmonaut needs to pass about 20 exams.
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