Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov (; born May 6, 1966) is a Russian cosmonaut. He is a veteran of three spaceflights, which were long-duration missions aboard 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 ...

. His first spaceflight took place from April to September 2010, and was launched with the spacecraft

Soyuz TMA-18 Soyuz TMA-18 was a 2010 Soyuz programme, Soyuz flight to the International Space Station (ISS). TMA-18 was the 105th crewed flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since the Soyuz 1, first crewed flight in 1967. Crew Backup crew Launch After a ...

. He arrived at the station part way through Expedition 23, of which Oleg Kotov was the commander. When

Expedition 24 Expedition 24 was the 24th long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 24 initially had two planned spacewalks, one Russian and one American Extra-vehicular Activity (EVA). The U.S. EVA was re-planned and a second ...

began in June, Skvortsov became commander.

Personal life

Skvortsov is married to Elena Georgievna Skvortsova (née Krasnikova). They have one daughter, Anna Aleksandrovna Skvortsova, born in 1990. His father is Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov, born in 1942 and his mother is Nina Ivanovna Skvortsova (Zabelina), born in 1938. Skvortsov's hobbies include diving, soccer, badminton, fishing, hunting, and tourism. He is also a qualified

underwater diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving (disambiguation), diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meani ...

and

powered paragliding Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring or PPG, is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a back-pack motor (a paramotor) which provides enough thrust to take off using a paraglider. It can be launched in still air, and on ...

(paraborne) instructor.

Education

Skvortsov graduated from the Stavropol Air Force Pilot and Navigator School (located at Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport) as pilot-engineer in 1987, and in 1997 from the Military Red Banner Air Defense Academy. Currently he is working towards a law degree at the Russian Academy of Civil Service.

Awards

Skvortsov was awarded: *

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation The Honorary Title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation () is a state award of the Russian Federation presented to all cosmonauts who fly for the Russian Federal Space Agency. Usually accompanying the distinction is the title of Hero of th ...

* Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" * Russian Armed Forces Meritorious Service Medal of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree, * Commendation Medal of 3rd degree, * Military Superior Service medal of 2nd degree.

Experience

Skvortsov flew L-39,

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...

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 ...

aircraft as a pilot, senior pilot and chief of aircraft formation. Skvortsov has logged around 1000 hours of flight time. He is a Class 1 Air Force pilot, a qualified diver and paraborne instructor.

Cosmonaut career

ISS-24 Alexander Skvortsov makes final preparations for his departure

Skvortsov completed basic space training from January 1998 to November 1999. He was qualified as a test-cosmonaut in November, 1999. Starting January 2000 he was in

advanced training. In March 2008, Skvortsov was assigned to the Expedition 21/ 22 backup crew as a flight engineer and Soyuz TMA commander.

Expedition 23/24

Skvortsov served 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 ...

for the International Space Station (ISS) on Expedition 23. He traveled to the ISS aboard

along with fellow Russian cosmonaut

Mikhail Korniyenko Mikhail Borisovich Kornienko (Михаил Борисович Корниенко; born 15 April 1960) is a Russian cosmonaut who has undertaken multiple missions to the International Space Station (ISS). He first served as a flight engineer duri ...

and NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, on April 2, 2010, from the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

in Kazakhstan. He celebrated his 44 birthday in space aboard the ISS on May 6, 2010. Skvortsov was the commander of the ISS

. At the traditional "Change of Command" ceremony held on May 31, 2010, aboard the ISS Expedition 23 commander Oleg Kotov handed over his duties to Skvortsov. Ending Expedition 24, the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft carrying Commander Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Kornienko, and NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson undocked from the space station at 10:02 p.m. EDT on September 24, 2010. Following a normal descent, the Soyuz crew landed at 5:23 a.m. GMT near Arkalyk, Kazakhstan on September 25. After returning to Earth and sharing his experiences to an audience, Skvortsov said "I love spicy food, I make really hot chili sauce myself. I missed it badly. I finished off all the spicy ketchup stock on the ISS and shocked everyone by making and eating wasabi sandwiches. That's my fuel, as good as a rocket's".

Expedition 39/40

Skvortsov returned to space aboard Soyuz TMA-12M, along with

Oleg Artemyev Oleg Germanovich Artemyev (; born December 28, 1970) is a Russian people, Russian Astronaut, Cosmonaut for the Russian Federal Space Agency. He was selected as part of the RKKE-15 Cosmonaut group in 2003. He was a flight engineer of Expedition 39 ...

and Steven Swanson, as a flight engineer on the

Expedition 39 Expedition 39 was the 39th expedition to the International Space Station. It marked the first time the ISS had been under command of a Japanese astronaut, space veteran Koichi Wakata. After Expedition 21 in 2009 and Expedition 35 in 2013, it wa ...

crew. The mission launched on March 25, 2014, and landed on September 11, 2014.

Expedition 60/61

Skvortsov launched on July 20, 2019, and arrived to the International Space Station on the same day, joining the

Expedition 60 Expedition 60 was the 60th Expedition to the International Space Station, which began on 24 June 2019 with the undocking of the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft. The expedition was commanded by Aleksey Ovchinin, who transferred from Expedition 59 toget ...

/ 61 crew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skvortsov, Aleksandr 1966 births Russian cosmonauts Living people Commanders of the International Space Station Heroes of the Russian Federation Zhukov Air and Space Defence Academy alumni Spacewalkers