Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasyev (russian: Виктор Михайлович Афанасьев; born 31 December 1948) is a colonel in the

Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...

and a test

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 ...

of the Yu. A.

Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC; Russian: Центр подготовки космонавтов имени Ю. А. Гагарина) is a Russian training facility responsible for train ...

. He was born 31 December 1948, in

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, and is married to Yelena Ya. Afanasyeva, born in 1952. They have two children. His father, Mikhail Z. Afanasyev, is deceased. His mother, Marya S. Afanasyeva, resides in Merkulyevo, Bryansk region,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. His recreational interests include football, swimming, and tourism. He considers his favorite meal to be

borscht Borscht () is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukraine, Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, wh ...

Education

Graduated from Kachynskoye Military Pilot School in 1970 and the Ordzhonikidze Aviation Institute,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, in 1980.

Special honors

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 ...

; Pilot-Cosmonaut of the

USSR 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 nationa ...

Experience

1970 to 1976 served in the Air Force fighting troops as a pilot, senior pilot, and aircraft flight commander. 1976 to 1977 attended the Test Pilot Training Center. 1977 to 1988 served as a test pilot and senior test pilot at the State Research/Test Institute named after

Valery Chkalov Valery Pavlovich Chkalov ( rus, Валерий Павлович Чкалов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕkaləf; – 15 December 1938) was a test pilot awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (1936). Early life Chkalov was bo ...

. Viktor Afanasyev has a Class 1 military test pilot certification. He has logged over 2000 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft.

GCTC experience

1985 to 1987 Viktor Afanasyev was taking a basic space training course at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center on a part-time training basis. He reported to the GCTC and proceeded to advanced training in 1988. From February 1989 on Afanasyev was training for a space flight aboard 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 ...

orbital station A space station is a spacecraft capable of human spaceflight, supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat (facility), space habitat. It lacks major spacecraft propulsion, propulsion or ...

as the Mir-7 mission backup crew commander. He has logged 175 flight days during his first space flight (2 December 1990 to 26 May 1991) as the Mir-8 mission crew commander. The mission program included a joint flight with a Japanese and British crewmember. He performed 4 EVAs totaling 20 hours and 55 minutes. 8 January to 9 July 1994, Afanasyev was participating in a space flight aboard the Soyuz-TM-18 transport vehicle and Mir orbital station as the Mir-15 mission crew commander. October 1996 to January 1998 Afanasyev was training for the Mir-25 mission as a backup crew commander. The mission was supposed to include NASA-7 and Pegasus (

CNES The (CNES; French: ''Centre national d'études spatiales'') is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is und ...

) programs. From March 1998 he underwent training as the

Mir-27 miR-27 is a family of microRNA precursors found in animals, including humans. MicroRNAs are typically transcribed as ~70 nucleotide precursors and subsequently processed by the Dicer enzyme to give a ~22 nucleotide product. The excised region or ...

mission primary crew commander. 20 February to 28 August 1999, he was participating in a 189-day space flight aboard the Soyuz-TM transport vehicle and Mir orbital station. He has performed 3 EVAs. Colonel Afanasyev is a veteran of three long-duration missions. He has logged over 545 days in space, and 7 EVAs totaling 38.55 hours. He has a Class 1 cosmonaut certification. In 2001 Viktor Afanasyev was assigned to the ISS Taxi-1 backup crew.

Honours and awards

(26 May 1991) – for the successful implementation of spaceflight on the orbital scientific research complex ''Mir'' and displaying courage and heroism *

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 2nd class (10 April 2002) – for their courage and professionalism shown during the implementation of space flight on the International Space Station; 3rd class (22 November 1999) – for their courage and heroism displayed during prolonged space flight on the orbital scientific research complex ''Mir'' *

Order for Personal Courage Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

(18 August 1994) – for their courage and bravery shown during prolonged space flight on the orbital scientific research complex ''Mir'' *

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 ...

(26 May 1991) *

Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 3rd class (21 February 1985) *

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 the great achievements in the field of research, development, and use of outer space, many years of diligent work, public activities * Grand Officier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

(France) *

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 ...

(26 May 1991) – for the implementation of space flight on the orbital scientific research complex ''Mir''

References

Viktor M. Afanasyev. Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afanasyev, Viktor Mikhaylovich 1948 births Living people Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Personal Courage" Recipients of the Order of Lenin Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur People from Bryansk Russian Air Force officers Russian aviators Russian cosmonauts Soviet Air Force officers Soviet cosmonauts Spacewalkers Mir crew members