Nationality Russian Name Aleksandr Volkov Other occupation Test Pilot Role Cosmonaut | Time in space 391d 11h 52m First space flight Soyuz T-14 Selection 1978 cosmonaut Group Movies Out of the Present | |
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Born 27 May 1948 (age 75)
Horlivka, Ukrainian SSR ( 1948-05-27 ) Space missions Soyuz T-14, Soyuz TM-7, Soyuz TM-13, Mir Children Sergey Alexandrovich Volkov Rank Colonel, Soviet Air Forces Similar People Sergey Alexandrovich Volkov, Vladimir Vasyutin, Sergei Krikalev, Jean‑Loup Chretien, Franz Viehbock | ||
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Во́лков, born 27 May 1948) is a retired Russian cosmonaut. He is the father of cosmonaut Sergey Volkov, a veteran of 3 space flights to the International Space Station.
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Biography and career
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.
Awards
Aleksandr Volkov was awarded: