The pilot-cosmonaut told Izvestia about his first impressions in orbit

The average preparation time for an astronaut before the first flight takes about 10 years, so the risk of not flying due to force majeure or health problems causes more fear than the flight itself, said cosmonaut, Hero of Russia Sergey Korsakov in an interview with Izvestia.

"In general, the life of an astronaut resembles the life of a student, because there is a lot of theory. We are studying how a spaceship works, how to control it, and how to get out of emergency situations. There are a lot of calculated emergency situations when we can roughly imagine what could go wrong, and we need to know our actions clearly, a clear algorithm, so that in a stressful situation we can do everything correctly according to the instructions, not to be afraid, not to panic," he said.

Actions in an emergency situation are also practiced on a full-size mock-up of the International Space Station (ISS), and astronauts are sent on business trips to Houston to study the American segment. They usually get to know the astronauts there so that the crews don't have to make contact during the flight.

Despite the common protocols for flights to the ISS, there are differences in the training of astronauts and astronauts. In Russia, the process also includes skydiving, the cosmonaut noted. This is necessary for safety reasons, as well as to test stress tolerance.

"In a stressful situation, we practice our decision-making skills, because we don't just jump with a parachute, but during free fall we perform various tasks, tests for psychologists, and report on a dictaphone for a minute. Psychologists assess our condition in extreme conditions," the source told Izvestia.

Even at the first stages, cosmonaut candidates must show survival skills in various climatic and natural conditions, for example, in a winter forest or desert.

The ISS crew has opportunities to connect with their family, but little free time. They usually communicate with their loved ones in the evenings, then they can watch a movie or play musical instruments. In addition, astronauts do a lot of sports to keep their muscles toned, but it still takes about six months to fully recover after the flight. Nevertheless, all members of the cosmonaut squad want to fly as much as possible.

"When you look out the window for the first time, you can't believe your eyes, how incredible it really is, because our planet is incredibly beautiful," said Sergey Korsakov. "Even if you are on the surface of the Earth, you can probably travel all your life to different corners and admire the views, enjoy all its beauty, but it really opens up when you fly at least 400 km away and look from the side."

A detailed conversation with Sergey Korsakov can be read here.