Astronaut Scott Kelly to spend year in space

Astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, both veterans of long-duration space flights, will spend a full year aboard the International Space Station in 2015-16 to help scientists learn more about how the body reacts and adapts to weightlessness and other aspects of the space environment.

The research is aimed at helping scientists and engineers develop possible countermeasures for future manned missions to deep space destinations including the moon, nearby asteroids and, eventually, Mars.

"Congratulations to Scott and Mikhail on their selection for this important mission," William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space flight, said in a statement. "The one-year increment will expand the bounds of how we live and work in space and will increase our knowledge regarding the effects of microgravity on humans as we prepare for future missions beyond low-Earth orbit."

The mission also could free up two seats aboard Russian Soyuz ferry craft for station visits by wealthy space tourists, providing needed cash to the Russian space program.

The Russians launched eight "spaceflight participants" to the station between 2001 and 2008, including one who flew twice. Seven of those were considered space tourists, paying between $20 million and $50 million per flight. The flights were arranged by Space Adventures of Vienna, VA.

Tourist flights have been on hold in recent years with all available Soyuz seats booked for professional astronauts and cosmonauts making up the station's six-member crew.

In early October, however, NASA and the Russians announced plans for an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut to spend a full year aboard the space station, freeing up two Soyuz seats in the normal crew rotation matrix.

Soprano Sarah Brightman announced on Oct. 10 that she was booking a flight to the station through Space Adventures and Roscosmos, the Russian federal space agency. Russian space officials said late last week that a final decision is expected next year. If the flight is approved, Brightman likely would fly in the mid to late 2015 timeframe.

"I have met her, she is all set to fly, but Roscosmos has not yet decided on it," Vladimir Popovkin, director of the Russian space agency, said in published accounts. "We have a range of possibilities, including sending young cosmonauts to fly. A final decision will be made in the first half of 2013."

NASA did not announce when Kelly and Kornienko would begin their mission, but sources said earlier they likely will take off in March 2015 aboard the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft, accompanied by a Russian spacecraft commander who would stay aboard the lab for a normal six-month tour.

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Astronaut Scott Kelly to spend year in space