General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Oleg Ostapenko, talks during the State Commission meeting to approve the Soyuz rocket launch of Expedition 38 Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA for a six month mission aboard the International Space Station, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), makes remarks during the State Commission meeting to approve the Soyuz launch of Expedition 41 to the International Space Station, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014, at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Sept. 26 and will carry Expedition 41 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, and Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), right, shakes hands with Expedition 41 Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, left, as he and crewmates Flight Engineer Elena Serova and Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) prepare to depart for the launch pad on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket will send Wilmore, Serova, and Samokutyaev on a five and a half month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)
Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), makes remarks during the State Commission meeting to approve the Soyuz launch of Expedition 42 to the International Space Station, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Nov. 24 and will carry Expedition 42 Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA , and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Oleg Ostapenko, left, and, President of RSC Energia, Designer General V.A.Lapota, right, assist Expedition 38 Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, as he and fellow crew members, Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, behind Tyurin, and, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA, far back, walk to the soyuz rocket for their launch to the International Space Station, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Tyurin, Wakata, and, Mastracchio will launch in their Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft to the International Space Station to begin a six-month mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency, left, and Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, right, shake hands following a joint statement after the docking of the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft with the International Space Station on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Baikonur Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency, left, Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, center, and William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, right, are seen during a joint statement after the docking of the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft with the International Space Station on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Baikonur Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, speaks during a joint statement with Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency, and Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, following the docking of the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft with the International Space Station on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Baikonur Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The three spoke on the importance of international cooperation in human spaceflight. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, left, and William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, right, shake hands following a joint statement after the docking of the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft with the International Space Station on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Baikonur Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency, left, Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, center, and William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, right, are seen during a joint statement after the docking of the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft with the International Space Station on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Baikonur Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The three spoke on the importance of international cooperation in human spaceflight. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency, left, Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, center, and William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, right, are seen during a joint statement after the docking of the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft with the International Space Station on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Baikonur Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The three spoke on the importance of international cooperation in human spaceflight. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Prime Minister of Russian Federation, standing left, next to, Oleg Ostapenko, Head of Roscosmos, give a formal farewell to Expedition 38 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, far right, Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, center, and, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA, as Division Chief, GCTC, Valery Korzun holds the Olympic torch that will travel with the crew on their soyuz TMA-11M rocket to the International Space Station, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)
General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Oleg Ostapenko, as seen during the State Commission meeting to approve the Soyuz rocket launch of Expedition 39 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Flight Engineer Steve Swanson of NASA, and Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos on a six month mission aboard the International Space Station, Monday, March 24, 2014 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Expedition 39 Flight Engineer Steve Swanson of NASA, left, Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, center, and, Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos, right, are seen as they report to the General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Oleg Ostapenko, far right, outside of Building 254 following their suit up for launch, Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Swanson, Skvortsov, and Artemyev onboard launched at 3:17 a.m. later that morning Kazakhstan time. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)
Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, makes remarks during the State Commission meeting held to approve the Soyuz launch of the crew for a five and a half month mission aboard the International Space Station, Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 40 Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, ESA, and Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman of NASA will launch about their Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft in the early hours of May 29. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Oleg Ostapenko, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, center, shakes hands with Expedition 40 Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman of NASA, right, as he and crewmates Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, ESA, prepare to depart for the launch pad on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket will send Gerst, Suraev, and Wiseman on a five and a half month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Peshkova)
General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, left, and William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, right, are seen during a joint statement after the docking of the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft with the International Space Station on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Baikonur Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)