A preflight astronaut training complex at Russia's new Vostochny Space Center will be completed by 2022, the head of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center said.
"According to the confirmed schedule, the construction of the preflight astronaut training center at the Vostochny Cosmodrom will be completed in 2022…This will be the most modern preflight training complex," Yuri Lonchakov told journalists.
Vostochny, which has been under construction since 2012, is expected to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is on lease to Russia until 2050.
Russia May Resume Practice of Sending Space Tourists After 2018
Russia will not drop plans of sending tourists into the space as part of a crew but not until 2018, the head of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center said.
"We have all the crews staffed until 2018, training has started. So there is no need to send tourists into space," Yuri Lonchakov told journalists.
He also noted that there were no Russians among the candidates for tourist flights to the International Space Station (ISS).
