ZVYOZDNY GORODOK, 1 March (BelTA) – It is a great honor for me, Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya said of the upcoming space flight scheduled for 21 March during a pre-flight conference with the participation of the ISS-71/VE-21 prime and backup crews at the Cosmonaut Training Center, BelTA has learned.
"It is a great honor for me to become a member of the prime crew," Marina Vasilevskaya said. She thanked Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who initiated a project to organize a space flight for a citizen of sovereign Belarus.
"On the instruction of the heads of state, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the Roscosmos Corporation made sure this project is implemented at the highest level," Marina Vasilevskaya said.
She expressed confidence that the scientific program of the space flight will be fully implemented.
"I will do my best to fulfill all the tasks that my country has entrusted to me," Marina Vasilevskaya said.
"I am sure that all the results of scientific experiments will give a high impetus to the science of the Republic of Belarus," she added.
