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Russia’s Cosmonauts Training Center plans to beef up recruitment

This year, the center plans to double or even triple the recruitment

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

ZVEZDNY GORODOK /Moscow region/, April 5. /TASS/. Russia’s Cosmonauts Training Center plans to double and even triple the amount of candidates during the upcoming supplementary recruitment campaign, compared to the previous one, the center’s head Yuri Lonchakov told reporters on Wednesday.

The decision to carry out another campaign has been taken by the Interagency Commission on Cosmonaut Recruitment, applications and documents will be accepted until July 14, 2017.

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Roscosmos starts recruitment of cosmonauts for future lunar missions

"During the previous campaign, there were 38 applicants per position. This year, we plan to double or even triple the recruitment," Lonchakov promised.

According to him, long-distance interviews for the posts will be held first and after that the remaining applicants will have to go through tests and interviews.

"There are two aspects to the recruitment process, as it requires a technical education and flight training. In addition, the applicants will take tests in physics, mathematics, the Russian and English languages and the history of culture," the head of the Cosmonauts Training Center added.

This is going to be the 17th cosmonaut recruitment. The previous one, carried out in 2012, was special as for the first time the recruitment process was open so anyone, not just military pilots and rocket and space industry staff, had a chance to file an application. That time, eight people were chosen, of whom six are still members of the cosmonaut unit.

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