About 400 people enrolled to Russian cosmonauts

Number of people wanting to tie their lives with cosmonautics is increasing, Izvestia paper reports. According to Head of Y. Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center Yuri Lonchakov, currently about 400 applications have been registered.

He has remarked that there were a bit more than three hundred of applications last year. The requirements have become stricter this year. At present, candidates should have flight or technical educational degree and work in this field not less than three years.

Enrollment has been prolonged for the third time already. Now it will close in December, though according to the initial plan it had to be over in the middle of summer.

Lonchakov has explained that at present there are thirty-one people in the team of cosmonauts. It is enough until 2021, however, there will be a shortage of them later, so new enrollment was opened. The next qualification round includes three female candidates already.

This enrollment to the team of cosmonauts is conducted for the 17th time. The last one was arranged in 2012 and it was opened to public – anybody could apply for it. Only eight people out of three hundred volunteers were selected at that time.

Besides, Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center will open ten positions for military men in the nearest several months. It is necessary to enable military pilots to enter cosmonauts’ team without losing their work record and relevant privileges.

Russkiy Mir