Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov ( bg, Александър Панайотов Александров) (born December 1, 1951) is a retired Bulgarian 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's Intercosmos 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 mission to the Salyut 6 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 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. Upon arriving at Mir, Aleksandrov became the first Bulgarian to reach a Soviet space station, as the Soyuz 33 mission carrying Georgi Ivanov failed to reach the Salyut 6 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 (1988) * Hero of the Soviet Union (1988) * Order of Georgi Dimitrov * Order of Lenin (1988) * Order of Stara Planina (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" (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