Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov ( bg, Александър Панайотов Александров) (born December 1, 1951) is a retired

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n cosmonaut. He is the second Bulgarian to have flown to space, behind Georgi Ivanov.

Biography

Aleksandrov was born in Omurtag, Bulgaria on December 1, 1951. He graduated from the

Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force ( bg, Военновъздушни сили, Voennovazdushni sili) is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and p ...

Academy in 1974 and obtained a degree in technical sciences in 1983. In the Bulgarian Air Force, Aleksandrov rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Aleksandrov was selected as a Research Cosmonaut on March 1, 1978, as part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Intercosmos Interkosmos (russian: Интеркосмос) was a Soviet space program, designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with crewed and uncrewed space missions. The program was formed in April 1967 in Moscow. All members of the program from USSR ...

program. The selection featured six semifinalists, including the parachute jump record holder,

Chavdar Djurov Chavdar Djurov (Dzhurov, bg, Чавдар Джуров, 31 May 1946 – 14 June 1972) was a Bulgarian pilot who in 1965 set the world record of the highest night parachute jump of . Djurov's father, Dobri Djurov, was a high-ranked military offic ...

, who was killed during the selection process. Aleksandrov was selected as backup to Georgi Ivanov on the

Soyuz 33 Soyuz 33 (russian: Союз 33, ''Union 33'') was an April, 1979, Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station.The mission report is available here: http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-33.htm It was the ninth mission to the ...

mission to the

Salyut 6 Salyut 6 (russian: Салют-6; lit. Salute 6), DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme. It was launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket. Salyut 6 was the first space station to receiv ...

space station. Subsequently, Aleksandrov was assigned to the prime crew of the

Soyuz TM-5 Soyuz TM-5 was a crewed Soyuz spaceflight to Mir. It was launched on June 7, 1988, carrying the Mir EP-2 mission's three-person crew. This week-long stay on Mir occurred during the third long-duration Mir expedition, Mir EO-3. The crew of EP-2 r ...

mission to the

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

space station. Sokol of Aleksandar Aleksandrov

On June 7, 1988, Aleksandrov launched aboard TM-5 as a Research Cosmonaut along with mission commander

Anatoly Solovyev Anatoly Yakovlevich Solovyev (russian: Анатолий Яковлевич Соловьёв; alternate spelling "Solovyov") is a retired Russian and Soviet cosmonaut and pilot. Solovyev was born on January 16, 1948, in Riga, Latvia (at that time ...

and

Viktor Savinykh Viktor Petrovich Savinykh (born 7 March 1940) is a Soviet cosmonaut. Selected as a cosmonaut on 1 December 1978, he flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz T-4, Soyuz T-13 and Soyuz TM-5, and has spent 252 days 17 hours 38 minutes in space. Savinykh reti ...

. Upon arriving at Mir, Aleksandrov became the first Bulgarian to reach a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

space station, as the Soyuz 33 mission carrying Georgi Ivanov failed to reach the

space station. On June 17, Aleksandrov returned aboard

Soyuz TM-4 Soyuz TM-4 was a crewed Soyuz spaceflight to Mir. It was launched on 21 December 1987, and carried the first two crew members of the third long duration expedition, Mir EO-3. These crew members, Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov, would stay in spa ...

along with his fellow crew members. He, along with his crew-mates, spent just under 10 days in space. Aleksandrov later became Deputy Director of the Institute of Space Research,

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy ...

. Currently Aleksandrov works as a research scientist. He is married and has one child.

Honours and awards

Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria The Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria ( bg, Герой на Народна република България) was awarded to Bulgarian and foreign citizens for merits in defending Bulgaria and other countries allied to Bulgaria. Establis ...

(1988) *

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

(1988) *

Order of Georgi Dimitrov The Order of Georgi Dimitrov (or Order of Georgy Dimitrov, bg, Орден Георги Димитров) was the highest award of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It was instituted on 17 June 1950 and awarded to Bulgarians and foreigners for out ...

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

(1988) *

Order of Stara Planina Orders, decorations and medals of Bulgaria are regulated by the law on the Orders and Medals of the Republic of Bulgaria of 29 May 2003. The National Military History Museum of Bulgaria in Sofia currently has over 150 Bulgarian Orders in the coll ...

(2003), first class, on the 15th anniversary of the second Soviet-Bulgarian flight * Military Pilot First Class * Pilot-Cosmonaut of Bulgaria *

Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" The Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" (russian: Медаль "За заслуги в освоении космоса") is a state decoration of the Russian Federation aimed at recognising achievements in the space program. It was established ...

(12 April 2011) – for outstanding contribution to the development of international cooperation in manned space flight

References

External links

Spacefacts biography of Aleksandar Panayotov Aleksandrov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleksandrov, Aleksandr Panayotov 1951 births Living people People from Omurtag (town) Bulgarian cosmonauts Heroes of the Soviet Union Heroes of the People's Republic of Bulgaria Recipients of the Order of Georgi Dimitrov Recipients of the Order of Lenin Bulgarian Air Force personnel 20th-century Bulgarian military personnel Mir crew members

Biography

Honours and awards

See also

References

External links