Russians permanently present in space from 2009

MISSION CONTROL (Moscow Region), November 14 (RIA Novosti) - The crew of the International Space Station will be expanded in 2009 from three to six, a Russian space agency official said on Friday.

"Next year, for the first time, we will start using a crew of six members," said Alexei Krasnov, director of manned flight programs at Roscosmos.

The Kazakh National Space Agency said on Thursday that a Kazakh cosmonaut would fly to the ISS in October 2009.

Roscosmos earlier said a Russian space tourist hopeful would miss out on a trip to the ISS in the autumn of 2009, as the Kazakh cosmonaut will likely take his place.

It was also added that work to ensure a permanent presence on the ISS will be carried out through the efforts of the Cosmonaut Training Center. (KP)