spacetoday.net: NASA finalizes deal for astronaut to fly on April Soyuz mission

NASA finalizes deal for astronaut to fly on April Soyuz mission

Posted: Fri, Mar 12, 2021, 6:20 PM ET (2320 GMT)
Vande Hei, Mark (NASA)

NASA said Tuesday it finalized a deal to fly an astronaut on next month's Soyuz mission to the International Space Station. NASA said Mark Vande Hei will join the Soyuz MS-18 crew launching April 9 for a six-month stay. NASA is acquiring the seat through a third party, Axiom Space, which purchased the seat from Roscosmos. NASA will provide Axiom with a future seat on a commercial crew mission in exchange for the Soyuz seat, with no money changing hands between the agency and company. The unusual way in which NASA acquired the seat, and announcing the deal just a month before the launch, has raised eyebrows in the space community.