Toktar Ongarbayuly Aubakirov ( kk, Тоқтар Оңғарбайұлы Әубәкіров (''Toqtar Oñğarbaiūly Äubäkırov''), russian: Токтар Онгарбаевич Аубакиров, born on 27 July 1946) is a retired Kazakh Air Force officer and a former

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

. He is the first person from

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

to go to space.

Early life

Toktar Aubakirov was born in Karkaraly district, Karaganda region,

Kazakh SSR ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

, which is now Kazakhstan. After graduating from the 8th grade of a secondary school he started working as a metal turner at the Temirtau foundry, whilst attending an evening school. In 1965 he joined the Armavir Military Aviation Institute of the Anti-Air Defence Pilots. He served as a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

in the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

on the Far East borders of the USSR until his acceptance into the

Fedotov Test Pilot School The Fedotov Test Pilot School or FTPS (''russian: link=no, Школа лётчиков-испытателей имени А. В. Федотова or russian: link=no, ШЛИ'') is one of two test pilot schools in Russia (the other one ...

in 1975.

Test pilot career

Between 1976 and 1991 he served as a test pilot at the Mikoyan Experimental Design Bureau (MiG aircraft). During this time he tested over 50 types of aircraft. The first in the Soviet Union to make a nonstop flight crossing the North Pole and with two

in-flight refueling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...

s, the first in the Soviet Union who took off from the aircraft-carrier ''Tbilisi'' (later named ''Kuznetsov'') on a MiG 29K.

Spaceflight experience

In 1991, in accordance with an agreement between the governments of the USSR and the Kazakh SSR, started training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. On 2 October 1991 he launched with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Volkov as flight commander, and the Austrian research cosmonaut

Franz Viehböck Franz Artur Viehböck (born 24 August 1960 in Vienna) is an Austrian electrical engineering, electrical engineer and cosmonaut, who became the first Austrian to fly in space. He visited the Mir space station in 1991 aboard Soyuz TM-13, returning ...

Soyuz TM-13 Soyuz TM-13 was the 13th expedition to Mir space station. Lasting from October 1991 to March 1992, the mission included cosmonauts from Austria and the soon-to-be independent region of Kazakhstan, as the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991. ...

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 ...

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

, and spent over eight days in space. Their mission was the last launched by the Soviet Union, which dissolved shortly thereafter, with Aubakirov becoming a citizen of the independent

Republic of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekis ...

Career

Since 1993, he has been the general director of the National Aerospace Agency of Republic of Kazakhstan. He was a member of the Kazakhstan parliament. Now he is a

pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...

and

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

Family

Toktar Aubakirov is married to Tatyana Aubakirova. They have two children: Timur (born in 1977) and Mikhail (born in 1982).

Awards and honors

Hero of 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) – Test flights of MiG aircraft *

People's Hero of Kazakhstan The title of People's Hero of Kazakhstan ( kk, Халық қаһарманы, Halyq qaharmany) is the highest distinction conferred by the Republic of Kazakhstan, along with the Order of the Golden Eagle. Overview According to the Law on State Aw ...

(''Halyk Kaharmany'') (1995) *

Order of Otan The Order of Otan ( Kazakh: ''Отан ордені'', trans. ''Otan ordeni'', ''Order of the Fatherland'') is one of the highest orders of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The order is usually awarded to citizens for the following, but there have been ...

(Kazakhstan) (1995) *

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) *

Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR The Honorary Title "Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR" (russian: Заслуженный лётчик-испытатель СССР) was a state award of the Soviet Union established on August 14, 1958 by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet ...

(1990) *

Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR The honorary title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR (russian: Летчик-космонавт СССР) was a state award of the Soviet Union presented to all cosmonauts who flew for the Soviet Space Agency. Usually accompanying the distinction w ...

(1991, last recipient) * Pilot-Cosmonaut of Kazakhstan (1994, first recipient) *

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

(1987) *

Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

(''Goldenes Ehrenzeichen''), twice (1988 and 1993) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

(1991) *

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

Aubakirov at Spacefacts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubakirov, Toktar 1946 births Living people People from Karaganda Soviet cosmonauts Soviet Air Force officers Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Heroes of Kazakhstan Recipients of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" Soviet test pilots Fedotov TPS alumni Kazakhstani cosmonauts Mir crew members