Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps

"Pilot-Cosmonauts of the USSR" on Television. Pilots-cosmonauts of the USSR at the television studio (from left to right) P. Popovich, Y. Gagarin, V. Tereshkova, V. Bykovsky, A. Nikolaev and G. Titov. Moscow, March 12, 1963

The Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps (in Russian: Отряд космонавтов, simply The Cosmonauts Corps) is a unit of the Russia's Roscosmos State Corporation that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for the Russian Federation and international space missions. It is part of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, based at Star Sity in Moscow Oblast, Russia.

History[]

The development of Soviet science and technology made it possible, by the end of the 1950s, to consider the issues of manned space flight. At the beginning of 1959, the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences Mstislav Keldysh held a meeting at which questions about manned space flight were discussed specifically, right down to "who should fly?". The decision on the selection and training of astronauts for the first space flight on the spacecraft "Vostok" was made in the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 22-10 "On the medical selection of candidates for astronauts", dated January 5, 1959, and in the Resolution Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 569-264 "On the preparation of man for space flights", May 22, 1959.

The selection of candidates for cosmonauts corps was entrusted to the command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces, military doctors and medical flight commissions, which monitored the health of pilots in units and formations, and the training of future cosmonauts was entrusted to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Later, the selection was directly entrusted to a group of specialists from the Central Military Research Aviation Hospital (TsVNIAH).

The cosmonaut corps was formed on January 11, 1960 by the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the USSR, dated March 7, 1960, the first 12 pilots who passed the initial selection were appointed to the post of listener-cosmonauts of the Air Force; The first cosmonaut corps, which included the future first cosmonaut of Yuri Gagarin, consisted of twenty people. On March 23, 1961, Yuri Gagarin was appointed as the commander of the cosmonaut corps.

The first Cosmonauts Corps was military unit No. 26266, which formed with the task of training cosmonauts, and a little later it was transformed into the Cosmonaut Training Center of the Air Force of the Armed Forces.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Corps became partly civilian and was managed by the Russian Space and Aviation Agency (RKA).

Organization[]

The cosmonaut Corps is based at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, although members may be assigned to other locations based on mission requirements.

The Chief of the Cosmonaut Office is the most senior leadership position for active cosmonaut in the Corps. The Chief serves as head of the Corps and is the principal adviser to the Roscosmos Director-General on cosmonaut training and operations. The first Chief Astronaut was Yuri Gagarin, appointed in 1960. The current Chief is .

Requirements[]

A Soviet space skafander in the Museum of Cosmonautics, Moscow

In order to enter the cosmonaut corps, a candidate for the role of an space pilot must pass medical and psychological tests (in the Central Research Aviation Hospital), as well as undergo a face-to-face interview. During Soviet Union, in addition, membership in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was also a prerequisite for joining the cosmonaut corps.^[1]

The main current requirements for joining the cosmonaut corps are to be with Russian citizenship, age up to 35 years, higher education, knowledge of English, successful passing of medical and psychological tests, body weight up to 90 kilograms.

List of Cosmonauts[]

Russia and the Soviet Union[]

The Soviet space program came under the control of the Russian Federation in December 1991; the new program, now called the Russian Federal Space Agency, retained continuity of equipment and personnel with the Soviet program. While all Soviet and RKA cosmonauts were born within the borders of the U.S.S.R., many were born outside the boundaries of Russia, and may be claimed by other Soviet successor states as nationals of those states. These cosmonauts are marked with an asterisk * and their place of birth is shown in an appended list. All, however, claimed Soviet or Russian citizenship at the time of their space flights.

A[]

Viktor Mikhaylovich Afanasyev — Soyuz TM-11 (1990), Soyuz TM-18 (1994), Soyuz TM-29 (1999), Soyuz TM-33/32 (2001)
Vladimir Aksyonov — Soyuz 22 (1976), Soyuz T-2 (1980)
Aleksandr Pavlovich Aleksandrov — Soyuz T-9 (1983), Soyuz TM-3 (1987)
Anatoly Artsebarsky* — Soyuz TM-12 (1991)
Yuri Artyukhin (1930–1998) — Soyuz 14 (1974)
Oleg Atkov — Soyuz T-10/11 (1984)
Toktar Aubakirov* — Soyuz TM-13/12 (1991)
Sergei Avdeyev — Soyuz TM-15 (1992), Soyuz TM-22 (1995)

B[]

Aleksandr Balandin — Soyuz TM-9 (1990)
Yuri Baturin, first Russian politician in space. — Soyuz TM-28/27 (1998), Soyuz TM-32/31 (2001)
Pavel Belyayev (1925–1970) — Voskhod 2
Georgi Beregovoi* (1921–1995) — Soyuz 3 (1968)
Anatoly Berezovoy (1942–2014) — Soyuz T-5/7 (1982)
Andrei Borisenko — Soyuz TMA-21 (2011), Soyuz MS-02 (2016)
Nikolai Budarin — STS-71/Soyuz TM-21 (1995), Soyuz TM-27 (1998), STS-113/Soyuz TMA-1 (2002)
Valery Bykovsky — Vostok 5, Soyuz 22 (1976), Soyuz 31/29 (1978)

D[]

Vladimir N. Dezhurov — Soyuz TM-21/STS-71 (1995)
Georgi Dobrovolski* (1928–1971), died on reentry. — Soyuz 11 (1971)
Pyotr Dubrov — Soyuz MS-18 (2021)
Lev Dyomin (1926–1998) — Soyuz 15 (1974)
Vladimir Dzhanibekov* — Soyuz 27/26 (1978), Soyuz 39 (1981), Soyuz T-12 (1984), Soyuz T-13 (1985)

F[]

Konstantin Feoktistov (1926–2009) — Voskhod 1
Anatoly Filipchenko — Soyuz 7 (1969), Soyuz 16 (1974)

G[]

Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968), first person in space. — Vostok 1
Yuri Gidzenko* — Soyuz TM-22 (1995), Soyuz TM-31/STS-102 (2001), Soyuz TM-34/Soyuz TM-33 (2001)
Yuri Glazkov (1939–2008) — Soyuz 24 (1977)
Viktor Gorbatko — Soyuz 7 (1969), Soyuz 24 (1977), Soyuz 37/36 (1980)
Georgi Grechko — Soyuz 17 (1975), Soyuz 26/27 (1977), Soyuz T-14/13 (1985)
Aleksei Gubarev — Soyuz 17 (1975), Soyuz 28 (1978)

I[]

Aleksandr Ivanchenkov — Soyuz 29/31 (1978)
Anatoli Ivanishin — Soyuz TMA-22 (2011), Soyuz MS-01 (2016)

K[]

Yevgeny Khrunov (1933–2000) — Soyuz 5/4 (1969)
Leonid Kizim* (1941–2010) — Soyuz T-3 (1980), Soyuz T-10/11 (1984), Soyuz T-15 (1986)
Pyotr Klimuk* — Soyuz 13, Soyuz 18 (1975), Soyuz 30 (1978)
Vladimir Komarov (1927–1967), died during reentry of first Soyuz spacecraft. — Voskhod 1, Soyuz 1 (1967)
Yelena V. Kondakova — Soyuz TM-20/STS-84 (1997)
Dmitri Kondratyev — Soyuz TMA-20 (2010)
Oleg Kononenko* — Soyuz TMA-12 (2008), Soyuz TMA-01M (2010), Soyuz TMA-03M (2011), Soyuz TMA-17M (2015)
Mikhail Korniyenko — Soyuz TMA-18 (2010), Soyuz TMA-16M (2015)
Valery Korzun — Soyuz TM-24 (1996), STS-111/113 (2002)
Oleg Kotov* — Soyuz TMA-10 (2007), Soyuz TMA-17 (2009), Soyuz TMA-10M (2013)
Vladimir Kovalyonok* — Soyuz 25 (1977), Soyuz 29/31 (1978), Soyuz T-4 (1981)
Konstantin Kozeyev — Soyuz TM-33/32 (2001)
Sergei Krikalev, six space flights and, as of 2006, holds record for longest total time in space: 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes. — Soyuz TM-7 (1988), Soyuz TM-12/ (1991), Soyuz TM-13 (1991), STS-60 (1994), STS-88 (1998), Soyuz TM-31/STS-102 (2001), Soyuz TMA-6
Valeri Kubasov — Soyuz 6 (1969), Soyuz 19 (1975), Soyuz 36/35 (1980)

L[]

Aleksandr Laveykin — Soyuz TM-2 (1987)
Vasili Lazarev (1928–1990) — Soyuz 12 (1973), Soyuz 18a (1975)
Aleksandr Lazutkin — Soyuz TM-25 (1997)
Valentin Lebedev — Soyuz 13, Soyuz T-5/7 (1982)
Alexsei Leonov, first person to "walk in space" (to make an EVA). — Voskhod 2, Soyuz 19 (1975)
Anatoli Levchenko* (1941–1988) — Soyuz TM-4/3 (1987)
Yuri Lonchakov* — STS-100 (2001), Soyuz TMA-1/TM-34 (2002), Soyuz TMA-13 (2008)
Vladimir Lyakhov* — Soyuz 32/34 (1979), Soyuz T-9 (1983), Soyuz TM-6/5 (1988)

M[]

Oleg Makarov (1933–2003) — Soyuz 12 (1973), Soyuz 18a (1975), Soyuz 27/26 (1978), Soyuz T-3 (1980)
Yuri Malenchenko* — Soyuz TM-19 (1994), STS-106 (2000), Soyuz TMA-1 (2003), Soyuz TMA-11 (2007), Soyuz TMA-05M (2012), Soyuz TMA-19M (2015)
Yury Malyshev (1941–1999) — Soyuz T-2 (1980), Soyuz T-11/10 (1984)
Gennadi Manakov — Soyuz TM-10 (1990), Soyuz TM-16 (1993)
Musa Manarov* — Soyuz TM-4/6, Soyuz TM-11 (1990)
Boris Morukov (1950–2015) — STS-106 (2000)
Talgat Musabayev* — Soyuz TM-19 (1994), Soyuz TM-27 (1998), Soyuz TM-32/31 (2001)

N[]

Andriyan Nikolayev (1929–2004), first astronaut of Chuvash descent — Vostok 3, Soyuz 9 (1970)
Oleg Novitski* — Soyuz TMA-06M (2012), Soyuz MS-03 (2016), Soyuz MS-18 (2021)

O[]

Yuri Onufrienko* — Soyuz TM-23 (1996), STS-108/111 (2001)
Aleksei Ovchinin — Soyuz TMA-20M (2016)

P[]

Gennady Padalka — Soyuz TM-28 (1998), Soyuz TMA-4 (2004), Soyuz TMA-14 (2009), Soyuz TMA-04M (2012), Soyuz TMA-16M (2015)
Viktor Patsayev* (1933–1971), died in reentry. — Soyuz 11 (1971)
Aleksandr Poleshchuk — Soyuz TM-16 (1993)
Valeri Polyakov, holds record for single longest spaceflight, 437 days — Soyuz TM-6/7 (1988), Soyuz TM-18/20 (1994)
Leonid Popov* — Soyuz 35/37 (1980), Soyuz 40 (1981), Soyuz T-7/5 (1982)
Pavel Popovich* (1930–2009) — Vostok 4, Soyuz 14 (1974)
Sergey Prokopyev — Soyuz MS-09 (2018)

R[]

Sergei Revin — Soyuz TMA-04M (2012)
Roman Romanenko — Soyuz TMA-15 (2009), Soyuz TMA-07M (2012)
Yuri Romanenko — Soyuz 26/27 (1977), Soyuz 38 (1980), Soyuz TM-2/3 (1987)
Valery Rozhdestvensky — Soyuz 23 (1976)
Nikolai Rukavishnikov (1932–2002) — Soyuz 10 (1971), Soyuz 16 (1974), Soyuz 33 (1979)
Sergei Ryazanski — Soyuz TMA-10M (2013), Soyuz MS-05 (2017)
Valery Ryumin — Soyuz 25 (1977), Soyuz 32/34 (1979), Soyuz 35/37 (1980), STS-91 (1998)
Sergei Ryzhikov — Soyuz MS-02 (2016)

S[]

Aleksandr Samokutyayev — Soyuz TMA-21 (2011), Soyuz TMA-14M (2014)
Gennadi Sarafanov (1942–2005) — Soyuz 15 (1974)
Viktor Savinykh — Soyuz T-4 (1981), Soyuz T-13/14 (1985)
Svetlana Savitskaya, first woman to walk in space. — Soyuz T-7/5 (1982), Soyuz T-12 (1984)
Aleksandr Serebrov (1944–2013) — Soyuz T-7/5 (1982), Soyuz T-8 (1983), Soyuz TM-8 (1989), Soyuz TM-17 (1993)
Yelena Serova — Soyuz TMA-14M (2014)
Vitali Sevastyanov (1935–2010) — Soyuz 9 (1970), Soyuz 18 (1975)
Yuri Shargin, first Russian military cosmonaut — Soyuz TMA-5/4 (2004)
Salizhan Sharipov* — STS-89 (1998), Soyuz TMA-5 (2004)
Vladimir Shatalov* — Soyuz 4 (1969), Soyuz 8 (1969), Soyuz 10 (1971)
Anton Shkaplerov — Soyuz TMA-22 (2011), Soyuz TMA-15M (2014)
Georgi Shonin* (1935–1997) — Soyuz 6 (1969)
Oleg Skripochka — Soyuz TMA-01M (2010), Soyuz TMA-20M (2016)
Aleksandr Skvortsov — Soyuz TMA-18 (2010)
Anatoly Solovyev* — Soyuz TM-5/4 (1988), Soyuz TM-9 (1990), Soyuz TM-15 (1992), STS-71/Soyuz TM-21 (1995), Soyuz TM-26 (1997)
Vladimir Solovyov — Soyuz T-10/11 (1984), Soyuz T-15 (1986)
Gennadi Strekalov (1940–2004) — Soyuz T-3 (1980), Soyuz T-8 (1983), Soyuz T-11/10 (1984), Soyuz TM-10 (1990), Soyuz TM-21/STS-71 (1995)
Maksim Surayev — Soyuz TMA-16 (2009), Soyuz TMA-13M (2014)

T[]

Yevgeni Tarelkin — Soyuz TMA-06M (2012)
Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space. — Vostok 6
Gherman Titov (1935–2000), the second person to make a space flight and the first to stay up for a day. — Vostok 2
Vladimir Titov — Soyuz T-8 (1983), Soyuz TM-4/6 (1987), STS-63 (1995), STS-86
Valeri Tokarev — STS-96 (1999), Soyuz TMA-7 (2005)
Sergei Treshchov — STS-111/113 (2002)
Vasili Tsibliyev* — Soyuz TM-17 (1993), Soyuz TM-25 (1997)
Mikhail Tyurin — STS-105/108 (2001), Soyuz TMA-9 (2006), Soyuz TMA-11M (2013)

U[]

Yuri Usachov — Soyuz TM-18 (1994), Soyuz TM-23 (1996), STS-101 (2000), STS-102/STS-105 (2001)

V[]

Vladimir Vasyutin* (1952–2002) — Soyuz T-14 (1985)
Aleksandr Viktorenko* — Soyuz TM-3/2 (1987), Soyuz TM-8 (1989), Soyuz TM-14 (1992), Soyuz TM-20 (1994)
Pavel Vinogradov — Soyuz TM-26 (1997), Soyuz TMA-8 (2006)
Igor Volk* (1937–2017) — Soyuz T-12 (1984)
Alexander Volkov* — Soyuz T-14 (1985), Soyuz TM-7 (1988), Soyuz TM-13 (1991), Soyuz TM-13 (1991)
Sergei Aleksandrovich Volkov* — Soyuz TMA-12 (2008), Soyuz TMA-01M (2011), Soyuz TMA-18M (2015)
Vladislav Volkov (1935–1971), died on reentry. — Soyuz 7 (1969), Soyuz 11 (1971)
Boris Volynov — Soyuz 5 (1969), Soyuz 21 (1976)

Y[]

Boris Yegorov (1937–1994) — Voskhod 1
Aleksei Yeliseyev — Soyuz 5/4 (1969), Soyuz 8 (1969), Soyuz 10 (1971)
Fyodor Yurchikhin* — STS-112 (2002), Soyuz TMA-10 (2007), Soyuz TMA-19 (2010), Soyuz TMA-09M (2013), Soyuz MS-04 (2017)

Z[]

Sergei Zalyotin — Soyuz TM-30 (2000), Soyuz TMA-1/TM-34 (2002)
Vitali Zholobov* — Soyuz 21 (1976)
Vyacheslav Zudov — Soyuz 23 (1976)

Soviet and Russian cosmonauts born outside Russia[]

All of the locations below were part of the former U.S.S.R. at the time of the cosmonauts' birth.

Azerbaidzhan S.S.R. / Azerbaijan[]

Musa Manarov, born in Baku, Azerbaijan

Byelorussian S.S.R. / Belarus[]

Pyotr Klimuk, born in Komarovka, Belarus. First Belarus-born man in space
Vladimir Kovalyonok, born in Beloye, Belarus
Oleg Novitski, born in Chervyen’, Belarus

Georgian S.S.R. / Georgia[]

Fyodor Yurchikhin, born in Batumi, Georgia

Kazakh S.S.R. / Kazakhstan[]

Toktar Aubakirov, born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. First ethnic Kazakh in space, later a Kazakh citizen.
Yuri Lonchakov, born in Balkhash, Kazakhstan
Talgat Musabayev, born in Kargaly, Kazakhstan, later a Kazakh citizen^[2]^[3]
Viktor Patsayev, born in Aktyubinsk, Kazakhstan
Vladimir Shatalov, born in Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan, first person born in Kazakhstan in space
Aleksandr Viktorenko, born in Olginka, Kazakhstan

Kirghiz S.S.R. / Kyrgyzstan[]

Salizhan Sharipov, born in Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan

Latvian S.S.R. / Latvia[]

Aleksandr Kaleri, born in Jūrmala, Latvia
Anatoly Solovyev, born in Riga, Latvia

Turkmen S.S.R. / Turkmenistan[]

Oleg Kononenko, born in Chardzhou, Turkmenistan

Ukrainian S.S.R. / Ukraine[]

Anatoly Artsebarsky, born in Prosyanaya, Ukraine
Georgi Beregovoi, born in Federovka, Ukraine
Georgiy Dobrovolskiy, born in Odessa, Ukraine
Yuri Gidzenko, born in Elanets, Ukraine
Leonid Kizim, born in Krasny Liman, Ukraine
Oleg Kotov, born in Simferopol, Ukraine
Anatoli Levchenko, born in Krasnokutsk, Ukraine
Vladimir Lyakhov, born in Antratsyt, Ukraine
Yuri Malenchenko, born in Svitlovodsk, Ukraine
Yuri Onufriyenko, born in Ryasne, Ukraine
Leonid Popov, born in Oleksandriia, Ukraine
Pavel Popovich, born in Uzyn, Ukraine. First Ukraine-born man in space.
Georgi Shonin, born in Rovenky, Ukraine
Vasili Tsibliyev, born in Orekhovka, Ukraine
Vladimir Vasyutin, born in Kharkiv, Ukraine
Igor Volk, born in Zmiiv, Ukraine
Aleksandr Volkov, born in Horlivka, Ukraine
Sergei Aleksandrovich Volkov, born in Chuhuiv, Ukraine
Vitali Zholobov, born in Zburjevka, Ukraine

Uzbek S.S.R. / Uzbekistan[]

Vladimir Dzhanibekov, born in Iskandar, Uzbekistan

References[]

^ "An assembly and test building is under construction for spacecraft for flights to the Moon". cbsmedia.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-04-30.
^ Bukharbayeva, Bagila (20 June 2004). "Kazakhstan Gets a Bigger Say in Space Launch Site" – via LA Times.
^ "Kazakh cosmonaut to replace Brightman on space station trip - Sen.com".

External links[]

Media related to Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps at Wikimedia Commons

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[1] "An assembly and test building is under construction for spacecraft for flights to the Moon". cbsmedia.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-04-30.

[2] Bukharbayeva, Bagila (20 June 2004). "Kazakhstan Gets a Bigger Say in Space Launch Site" – via LA Times.

[3] "Kazakh cosmonaut to replace Brightman on space station trip - Sen.com".

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