Aleksandr Nikolayevich Balandin (; born July 30, 1953) is a Russian

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

. He is married with two children. He was selected as a cosmonaut on December 1, 1978, and retired on October 17, 1994. He flew as a

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is a member of an aircraft's flight crew who is responsible for monitoring and operating its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referr ...

Soyuz TM-9 Soyuz TM-9 was the ninth expedition to the Russian Space Station Mir.The mission report is available here: http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-TM9.htm Crew Mission highlights During docking, cosmonauts aboard Mir noticed that thre ...

. He worked at NPO Energia until 1994, and was then President of Lendint-Association until 2000.

Biography

He was born on July 30, 1953, in Fryazino. In 1970, he graduated from high school in Fryazino, and in 1976, the

Bauman Moscow State Technical University The Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU; ), sometimes colloquially referred as the ''Bauman School'' or ''Baumanka'' (), is a public technical university (Institute of technology, polytechnic) located in Moscow, Russia. Bauman Univ ...

, with specialty - Flight Dynamics and Control. He worked as an engineer in the Moscow region at the Scientific Production Association (SPA) "Energy". On December 8, 1978, he was enrolled in the cosmonaut detachment (the 5th recruitment of civilian specialists from SPA Energia), and was prepared for flying at the Buran reusable spacecraft (1979-1984), Soyuz-TM spacecraft and Mir space station. In September 1989 - flight engineer of the backup crew of the

Soyuz TM-8 Soyuz TM-8 was a 1989 spaceflight which carried the fifth long duration crew to the Soviet space station Mir.The mission report is available here: http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-TM8.htm It was part of the Soyuz-TM series of spa ...

. On September 5, 1989, Soyuz TM-8 Union reached the orbit with the main crew (

Aleksandr Serebrov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Serebrov (, 15 February 1944 – 12 November 2013) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1967), and was selected as a cosmonaut on 1 December 1978. He retired on 10 May 1995. ...

and

Aleksandr Viktorenko Aleksandr Stepanovich Viktorenko (; 29 March 1947 – 9 August 2023) was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut. Viktorenko was selected as a cosmonaut on 23 March 1978 and retired on 30 May 1997. He was commander of Soyuz TM-3, Soyuz TM-8, Soyuz T ...

Awards

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR The honorary title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR () was a state award of the Soviet Union presented to all cosmonauts who flew for the Soviet Space Agency. Usually accompanying the distinction was the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the hi ...

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" The Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation aimed at recognising achievements in the space program. It was established by Decree of the President of Russia, presidential decree №1099 of September ...

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins () is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean state, the independentist gener ...

References

1953 births Living people Soviet cosmonauts Heroes of the Soviet Union People from Fryazino Recipients of the Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" Spacewalkers Mir crew members {{hero-USSR-stub