ZVYOZDNY GORODOK (Sputnik) — The period of service of a new International Space Station (ISS) crew in orbit has been increased from six to seven months due to update of the flight program, the new space expedition commander said Monday.
"Our flight will last more than six months. It has indeed been extended for one month due to the program update. We will have a lot of work. We are expecting a very difficult, intense but interesting expedition," Yuri Malenchenko told journalists at a press conference at the Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center.
The ISS crew will work with new cargo ships Progress M-M and Progress M-C. In addition, the crew are expected to carry out a spacewalk and receive the American cargo ships Dragon and Cygnus and perform works on equipping the Russian and American ISS segments.