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Cosmonaut Group

Below is a summary of the current Cosmonaut team, with each name is linked to a more detailed description on the Cosmonaut Group biographies page. I will keep this updated for as long as humanly possible, but as I don’t have any “insider” contacts, any information is appreciated! :-)

A lot of cosmonauts have yet to be assigned a spaceflight. Many experienced cosmonauts have also left since 2000. Sergei Krikalyov is by far the most experienced with 5 flights. Aleksandr Kaleri (selected in 1984) has been in this group the longest.

Not helping matters is that, since the Columbia Shuttle disaster in 2003, ISS crew and taxi flights have both been merged into the Soyuz missions, and with only two of these per year (and the second seat taken by the NASA astronaut portion of the crew), seats have become very limited (just two seats – the right-hand third seat – available per year). The Russian space agencies have also become focused/obsessed with selling that third seat to foreign cosmonauts or rich space tourists to raise revenue. So many career cosmonauts will have a long and discouraging wait for their seemingly elusive first flight. (In my view the unflown cosmonauts should get first priority for flights, and only one seat should be sold per year, freeing up the seat on the other Soyuz flight for a career cosmonaut.) Pavel Vinogradov lamented the dismal state of affairs in an interview (in Russian) in Novosti Kosmonavtiki №1 2007 – (summarized in The Space Review article “Death throes and grand delusions”).

BIG HINT to the appropriate authorities!: It would make things a lot easier if all the official biographies could be stored on one site, e.g. at the Russian Federal Space Agency site, together with (good-quality) official photos of ALL the cosmonauts (including the newest recruits), similar to how the JSC astronaut biography site is organized. NASA released detailed biographies and photos of their 2004 recruits and it seems a shame that the cosmonauts get so little publicity.

Current Cosmonaut Group

English alphabetical order

Российский алфавитный порядок

Organizations glossary

English

GKNII
State Red Banner Scientific Research Institute
IMBP
Institute of Medical and Biological Problems
GKNPTs Khrunichev
Khrunichev State Cosmic Research and Production Center
NPOE
Scientific Production Association Energiya (to 1994)
PVO
Anti-Air Defence, Air Defence Force
RGNIITsPK
Yurii Gagarin Russian State Science Research Cosmonauts’ Training Center
RKKE
Rocket and Spacecraft Corporation Energiya
TsSKB Foton
Foton Central Special Design Bureau
TsSKB Samara
Samara Central Special Design Bureau
TsPK
Cosmonaut Training Center
VKS
Military Space Force
VVS
Military Air Force

Руссийский

ГКНИИ
Государственный Краснознаменный Научно Исследователский Институт
ИМБП
Институт Медико-Биологических Проблем
ГКНПЦ «Хруничев»
Государственный Космический Научно-Производственный Центр им.М.В.Хруничева
НПОЕ
Научно Производственное Обединение «Энергия»
ПВО
Противовоздушная Оборона
РГНИИЦПК
Российский Государственный Научно-Исследовательский Испытательный Центр Подготовки Космонавтов им. Ю.А.Гагарина
РККЕ
Ракетно-Космическая Корпорация «Энергия»
ЦСКБ «Фотон»
Централное Спечиализированное Конструкторское Бюро «Фотон»
ЦСКБ «Самара»
Централное Спечиализированное Конструкторское Бюро «Самара»
ЦПК
Центр Подготовки Космонавтов
ВКС
Военно Космические Силы
ВВС
Военно Воздушние Силы

~Page last updated: 12 September 2007

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