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Russian PM contacts ISS cosmonauts from Vostochny spaceport

Dmitry Medvedev at the Vostochny cosmodrome Dmitry Astakhov/Russian government's press service/TASS

Dmitry Medvedev at the Vostochny cosmodrome

© Dmitry Astakhov/Russian government's press service/TASS

YGLEGORSK (Amur Region), August 21. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has for the first time contacted the International Space Station (ISS) from the Vostochny spaceport in Russia’s Far East. The communications session was held from the operating room of cosmodrome’s unified technological module of measurements, collecting and processing information. The Russian prime minister spoke to Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Korniyenko and Oleg Kononenko.

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Medvedev greeted the crew and asked how the cosmonauts were doing. "I am glad to see you, we are sending you best regards from the Vostochny cosmodrome which is being built," he said. "I hope that soon we will have here a complete, operating spaceport which will be used for piloted flights in the future."

The prime minister said he was impressed with what he saw. "I don’t know if you can see it from space, but large-scale works are underway here," Medvedev said. Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka said that they are watching the construction as well. "Yes, we are watching it. Monitoring service here makes many photographs of the construction site. We are ready to help from up here," Padalka said. Medvedev told representatives of Roscosmos space agency and Spetsstroy Agency for Special Construction Project to listen to proposals of cosmonauts at ISS.

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Space Dmitry Medvedev ISS Vostochny Cosmodrome

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