Aleksandr Fyodorovich Poleshchuk (, born October 30, 1953) is a former 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 ...

Biography

Born in Cheremkhovo,

Irkutsk region Irkutsk Oblast (; ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. It had a population of 2,370,10 ...

, he graduated from the

Moscow Aviation Institute Moscow Aviation Institute () is an engineering research university in Moscow, Russia. It is designated a National Research University. Since its inception the institute has been spearheading advances in aerospace technology both within Russia a ...

in 1977 with a mechanical engineering diploma. He then joined

RSC Energia S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation "Energia" () is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components. Its name is derived from the Russian word for energy and is also named for Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the first chief o ...

as a test engineer, where he was occupied with perfecting repair and assembly techniques performed during space flights. He has extensive experience in test work under simulated weightlessness conditions. In February 1989 he was selected as a test cosmonaut candidate (1989 Cosmonaut Candidates Class, Group 14, Civil Specialists). From September 1989 to January 1991 he underwent the complete course of general space training and was qualified as a test cosmonaut, and then until March 1992 he undertook advanced training for the Soyuz-TM transport vehicle and

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

station flight. In 1992 he was selected as the backup flight engineer of the

Soyuz TM-15 Soyuz TM-15 was the 15th expedition to the Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space st ...

joint Russian-French mission, and consequently nominated as the flight engineer of the prime crew of

Soyuz TM-16 Soyuz TM-16 was the sixteenth expedition to the Russian Space Station Mir.The mission report is available here:http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-tm16.htm The Soyuz-TM crew transports (T - транспортный - Transportnyi - me ...

. In space from January 24 to July 22, 1993, he participated in a 179-day space flight with Gennady Manakov. During the flight he performed two EVAs totaling 9 hours and 58 minutes. Also testing of the androgynous peripheral docking subassembly of the Kristall module was performed. October 1994 to March 1995 he trained as back-up flight engineer for the

Soyuz TM-21 Soyuz TM-21 was a crewed Soyuz (spacecraft), Soyuz spaceflight to ''Mir''. The mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket, at 06:11:34 UTC on 14 March 1995. The flight marked the first time thirteen human ...

transport vehicle and Mir Station 18th primary expedition flights. Poleshchuk is married and has one daughter.

External links

Biography at NASA
1953 births Living people Heroes of the Russian Federation Russian Air Force officers Russian cosmonauts Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Spacewalkers Mir crew members {{USSR-engineer-stub

Biography

See also

External links