Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov (russian: Aлександр Aлександрович Скворцов; born May 6, 1966) is a Russian cosmonaut. He is a veteran of three

spaceflights Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in or ...

, which were long-duration missions aboard the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

. 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 flight to the International Space Station (ISS). TMA-18 was the 105th crewed flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since the first crewed flight in 1967. Crew Backup crew Launch After a successful launch on 2 Ap ...

. He arrived at the station part way through

Expedition 23 Expedition 23 (russian: МКС-23) was the 23rd long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 23 began with the Soyuz TMA-16 undocking on 18 March 2010. Shortly thereafter cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Mikhail Ko ...

, of which

Oleg Kotov Oleg Valeriyevich Kotov (russian: Олег Валериевич Котов) was born on 27 October 1965 in Simferopol, Crimean oblast in the Ukrainian SSR. After a career as a physician assigned to the Soviet space program, he joined the Russian ...

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, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context ...

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 Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport (sometimes appearing as Mikhaylovskoye) is an airport in Stavropol Krai, Russia located 13 km northeast of Stavropol. It services medium-sized airliners with 14 parking spaces. It is also a small military t ...

) 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 (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation The Honorary Title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation (russian: Летчик-космонавт Российской Федерации) is a state award of the Russian Federation presented to all cosmonauts who fly for the Russian Federa ...

Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «70 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on January 28, 198 ...

* 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 L39 or L-39 may refer to: * 60S ribosomal protein L39 * Aero L-39 Albatros, a Czechoslovakian jet trainer * Bell L-39, an American experimental aircraft * , a destroyer of the Royal Navy * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * Lahti L-39, an anti-tank rif ...

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-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-generatio ...

and

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

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 Expedition 21 was the 21st long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition began on 11 October 2009, with Frank de Winne becoming the first ESA astronaut to command a space mission. The handover between Expeditio ...

/ 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 the member of an aircraft's flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referred to as the "air me ...

for the International Space Station (ISS) on

. 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. Kornienko served as a flight engineer on the International Space Station during Expedition 23/ 24 and was selected alon ...

and NASA astronaut

Tracy Caldwell-Dyson Tracy Caldwell Dyson (born Tracy Ellen Caldwell; August 14, 1969) is an American chemist and NASA astronaut. Caldwell Dyson was a Mission Specialist on Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Endeavour, ''Endeavour'' flight STS-118 in August 2007 and part of ...

, on April 2, 2010, from the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...

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

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 Soyuz TMA-12M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 39 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-12M was the 121st flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since the first in 1967 and the 38th ...

, along with

Oleg Artemyev Oleg Germanovich Artemyev (russian: Олег Германович Артемьев; born December 28, 1970) is a Russian Cosmonaut for the Russian Federal Space Agency. He was selected as part of the RKKE-15 Cosmonaut group in 2003. He was a flig ...

and

Steven Swanson Steven Roy Swanson (born December 3, 1960 in Syracuse, New York) is an American engineer and retired NASA astronaut. Swanson has flown two shuttle flights, STS-117 and STS-119, and one Soyuz flight, TMA-12M. All of the flights were to the Inter ...

, 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 together ...

/ 61 crew.

References

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