What must a Western trainee sent to the ISS on a Soyuz spacecraft learn at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center?
Much of their primary survival and flight training
Despite retaining their home agency title (astronaut), a Western trainee assigned to the ISS who launches aboard a Soyuz vehicle must undergo significant training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center located in Star City, Russia. This training is essential for operational safety and cooperation, and it covers much of their primary survival and flight training, focusing on Russian hardware and procedures. Although they remain astronauts according to their home agency, this requirement for intensive, site-specific training highlights the deep integration needed for successful ISS operations, forcing them to master the Russian operational paradigm.

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