Aidyn Akanuly Aimbetov (, ''Aidyn Aqanūly Aiymbetov''; , born 27 July 1972) is a Kazakh

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 ...

, the first flying as national of independent Kazakhstan. The first from Kazakhstan was

Toktar Aubakirov Toktar Ongarbayuly Aubakirov ( (''Toqtar Oñğarbaiūly Äubäkırov''), , born on 27 July 1946) is a retired Kazakh Air Force officer and a former cosmonaut. He is the first person from Kazakhstan to go to space. Early life Toktar Aubakirov ...

(1991).

Family

Aimbetov is married and has three children, two daughters and a son.

Military career

Aimbetov graduated from Kutakhov Armavir Higher Military Aviation School and became a military pilot, having enrolled after secondary school. He served at Lugovaya and

Taldykorgan Taldykorgan (, , ; ), formerly spelled Taldy-Kurgan until 1993, is the capital (called an administrative center) of Jetisu Region, Kazakhstan. According to the 2010 Kazakh Census, the population is 143,407. The town was founded in the 19th centu ...

, flying

MiG-27 The Mikoyan MiG-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger-D/J) is a variable-sweep ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as t ...

and

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters suc ...

fighters.

Cosmonaut career

Aimbetov was selected to the first Kazakh cosmonaut class in 2002, along with Mukhtar Aimakhanov, out of a pool of 2,000 candidates. From 2003 to 2009, he trained in Russia as a cosmonaut at Star City. He returned to

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

, in Kazakhstan, after failing to secure a spaceflight. He had been scheduled to fly in autumn 2009, but due to the world financial crisis, this fell through. Aimakhanov remained in Russia, becoming a Russian citizen, making Aimbetov the sole Kazakhstani cosmonaut. After returning, Aimbetov stayed in the JSC (national center of space research and technologies) of the National Space Agency (NSA) of Kazakhstan.Took place telephone conversation of the Chairman Kazcosmos Talgat Musabayev and the cosmonaut Aydyn Aimbetov
kazcosmos.gov.kz (05.09.2015) He founded the Institute for Space Development to promote the space industry in Kazakhstan. He started the Young Cosmonauts School in the Astana Pupil's Palace in 2012. He was still flight ready in April 2015. Expedition 44 crew greeting with guests

In June 2015, he was selected to fly on the

Soyuz TMA-18M Soyuz TMA-18M was a 2015 Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station. It provided the two twelve-months occupants ( Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko) at the International Space Station with a fresh Soyuz capsule. TMA-18M was the 127th ...

mission in place of singer

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...

who had withdrawn in May 2015, and her backup, Satoshi Takamatsu, who had also withdrawn. The mission was projected to launch to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

on 1 September 2015. Aimbetov becomes the third Kazakh-born cosmonaut to fly since Kazakhstan's independence in 1991, and the first to fly under the Kazakh flag, and as part of KazCosmos. Aimbetov had originally been projected to fly on a 2017 launch. Serving as Aimbetov's backup on the mission was Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev. On 2 September 2015, Aimbetov launched from Baikonour, Kazakhstan, aboard

, along with rookie astronaut

Andreas Mogensen Andreas Enevold "Andy" Mogensen (born 2 November 1976) is a Danish engineer and ESA astronaut who is best known for being the first Dane to fly in space as part of the European Space Agency's Iriss program. Mogensen has also been involved in a n ...

and capsule commander cosmonaut Sergey Volkov. On 11 September 2015, Aimbetov returned from his 10-day mission to the International Space Station, and touched down on the Kazakhstan Steppe, aboard

Soyuz TMA-16M Soyuz TMA-16M was a 2015 flight to the International Space Station.Gennady Padalka Gennady Ivanovich Padalka (; born 21 June 1958 in Krasnodar, Soviet Union) is a Russian Air Force officer and Roscosmos cosmonaut. Padalka is the only person to have served as commander of the International Space Station (ISS) four times. He previ ...

who was returning from a stint on the station, having become the recordholder for most time in space.

Career

From 2016 to 2019, he held the position of Vice President for the creation and Operation of space systems at JSC NC Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary. On September 27, 2021, was appointed Chairman of the Board of JSC NC Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary. On March 18, 2024, took over the post of Chairman of the Board of JSC Kazakh-Russian Joint Venture Baiterek.

References

External links

Spacefacts biography of Aydyn Aimbetov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aimbetov, Aydyn 1972 births Living people Kazakhstani cosmonauts People from Almaty Region