Alexander Alexandrovich Volkov (cosmonaut)
| Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov | |
|---|---|
Sergei and Aleksandr Volkov (right) in 2013
|
|
| Cosmonaut | |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Born |
27 May 1948 Horlivka, Ukrainian SSR |
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Other occupation
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Test Pilot |
| Rank | Colonel, Soviet Air Force |
|
Time in space
|
391d 11h 52m |
| Selection | 1978 cosmonaut Group |
| Missions | Soyuz T-14, Mir EO-4 (Soyuz TM-7), Soyuz TM-13 |
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Во́лков, born 27 May 1948) is a Russian cosmonaut.
Volkov was born in Ukrainian SSR in a family of Russian ethnicity. At the age of 13, Volkov witnessed Yuri Gagarin become the first man in space and this inspired him to become a cosmonaut. He joined the Soviet space programme and became a test pilot before realising his dream.
He flew into space three times. His first spaceflight was a trip to Salyut 7 in 1985 (64 days in space), followed by two flights to the Mir space station, in 1988–1989 (151 days) and again in 1991–1992 (175 days) as commander of flight Soyuz TM-13. On board the Mir space station, he controlled the docking procedures among other things.
The Soviet Union broke up in 1991 during his second stay on board Mir. At the time Volkov was orbiting Earth on Mir with Sergei K. Krikalev, "the last citizens of the USSR". Having gone into orbit as Soviet citizens, they returned to Earth as Russian citizens.
He worked as Commander of the Cosmonaut Team at the Cosmonauts Training Centre from January 1991 until August 1998. His work was to prepare Russian and foreign cosmonauts for future flights to space stations to Mir and the International Space Station.
He is the father of Sergey Volkov, who became the first second-generation cosmonaut when he was launched aboard Soyuz TMA-12 on 8 April 2008.
Aleksandr Volkov was awarded:
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