Aleksandr Valentinovich Golovko ( rus, Александр Валентинович Головко, uk, Олександр Валентинович Головко; born 29 January 1964) is a Russian

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

in the

Russian military The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

and

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

of the Russian Space Forces since 1 August 2015. Between 24 December 2012 until 31 July 2015 he was the Commander of the Aerospace Defence Forces.

Early life and education

Golovko is of

Ukrainian descent Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Or ...

and was born in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

in 1964. He joined the Soviet military and graduated from Marshal Leonid Govorov Air Defence and Radio Engineering Academy in 1986. After graduation he served in the Titov Main Test and Space Systems Control Centre in the Soviet and Russian Space Forces.

Career

In 2003 he became Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Space Forces and then returned to the Titov Main Test and Space Systems Control Centre as Chief of Staff from 2004 to 2007, and Commander from 2007 to 2011. From June 2011 to December 2012 he was the commander of

Plesetsk Cosmodrome Plesetsk Cosmodrome ( rus, Космодром «Плесецк», r=Kosmodrom "Plesetsk", p=kəsmɐˈdrom plʲɪˈsʲet͡sk) is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 ...

and was then appointed as head of the Aerospace Defence Forces, replacing Oleg Ostapenko, who had been promoted to Deputy Defence Minister. He commanded the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces from 2012 until August 2015 before he was appointed as commander of the reestablished Russian Space Forces on the same day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golovko, Aleksandr 1964 births Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Russian lieutenant generals Living people Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Space force commanders