In a tweet Monday, astronaut Chris Cassidy thanked the cities of Arkhangelsk, Russia and Portland, Maine for sending letters to him and his crewmate, Ivan Vagner, a native of Russia.
As it turns out, Vagner and Cassidy's hometown regions have been “sister cities” since 1988.
Cassidy is a native of York and a graduate of York High School. He's also a former Navy SEAL. Currently, he's serving aboard the ISS as station commander, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Antoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, for the Expedition 63 mission.
Here's what the letter, signed by Head of Arkhangelsk City Municipality Igor Godzish and Archangel Committee at Greater Portland Co-Chairs Neale Duffett and Carol Lord, said about the connection between the two cities.
Arkhangelsk Russia and Greater Portland Maine USA have been official Sister Cities since 1988. Over the years, our relationship has grown to involve many places throughout the Arkhangelsk Oblast and the State of Maine, and we are honored to have Ivan Vagner from the Arkhangelsk Oblast and Christopher Cassidy from the State of Maine together on orbit in the ISS.
Cassidy was born in Salem, MA, but moved to Maine when he was young. He considers York, Maine to be his hometown. He attended York High School before attending the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, Rhode Island. He graduated in 1989.
Cassidy spent 11 years as a member of the U.S. Navy SEAL Team. He made four six‐month deployments: two to Afghanistan, and two to the Mediterranean.