MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's space agency says two cosmonauts scheduled to launch to the International Space Station will be replaced with alternates for unspecified medical reasons. Roscosmos said Wednesday that crew members Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin will be replaced by their designated backups on the launch scheduled for April 9. NASA spokesman Rob Navias said U.S. astronaut Chris Cassidy would remain on the crew and launch as planned with the two Russian alternates. Cassidy trained with the original cosmonauts. The head of manned programs for Roscomos said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that one of the grounded Russians was “temporarily unfit.”

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