“It really is going to be strange,” Cassidy told The
Associated Press from cosmonaut headquarters
in Star City, Russia.
He said he’s already in quarantine ahead of his
launch to the International Space Station.
“The things that are stressing the rest of
the world and the rest of America, are the
same things that are stressing me right now,”
said Cassidy.
“It’s not like any other time in our lives as a
generation, really, right?’’ said the 50-year-
old Navy captain and former Navy SEAL. “I’ll
have my own interesting story to tell in years
to come.”
Cassidy is also dealing with a rare late-in-the-
game crew switch. He’ll spend 6 1/2 months on
the space station with two Russians assigned
to the flight just a month ago, after one of the
original cosmonauts suffered an eye injury.
While training together to catch up, Cassidy,
Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner have been
taking precautions to stay germ free, frequently
washing their hands and keeping a safe distance
from others.
The space station crew will drop from six to
three a week after his arrival. It will remain at
three people until SpaceX launches two NASA
astronauts, as early as May, or another crew
arrives on a Russian Soyuz capsule in the fall.
With only three people on board, it promises to
be extraordinarily busy.
“That doesn’t bother me at all,” Cassidy told the
AP. “In fact, I’m excited. Bring it on.”
Cassidy, Ivanishin and Vagner leave Tuesday
for the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.