Biography
Alexander Mikhailovich Samokutyayev - Russian military pilot and cosmonaut, colonel of reserve, hero of Russia. Like many Soviet boys, dreamed of becoming a cosmonaut. Due to persistence and purposefulness, it was realized as a higher level professional in aviation, then in astronautics.Childhood and youth
Alexander was born on March 13, 1970 in the city of Penza. As a child, Sasha was not different as Gagarin: he dreamed of space, and his beloved toy was a rocket.
In senior classes, he loved the sky even stronger: flew on glider, jumped with parachute. After graduating from school number 56, he entered the technical specialty in Penza Polytech, but the youthful passion renovated. A year later, he threw the university and took for a martial aircraft in the Ukrainian Chernigov.
Cosmonautics
In the early 90s, Alexander received a degree of a pilot engineer and tied life with military aviation. She "brought" him to the Far East, where Samokutyev served 5 years. During these years, the pilot flew 680 hours and jumped with parachute 250 times.However, then the pilot firmly understood that the children's nickname stuck to him for no accident: he should rise to the stars as the first cosmonaut. And the final decision took after a trip to the star town at the center of training of astronauts in the Moscow region.
In the late 90s, Alexander returned there to become a student. I studied at the Academy named after Yu.A. Gagarin and came to the service at the Center for the Guideline. It was able to submit documents for special preparation for flights after 3 years.
The long-awaited qualifications of the "cosmonaut-test test" of Samokutyaev received in the summer of 2005 among the excellent students. And 6 years of persistent workouts and studies needed to fulfill the children's dream - for the first time go to space.
With its debut flight on the ship "Soyuz" in the spring of 2011, Alexander commanded himself, in his submission was the crew of two cosmonauts. At an amazing chance, this aircraft was named after Yuri Gagarin in honor of the half-century anniversary of the first cosmic flight. Then Samokutsyaev went into open space by almost 6.5 hours, and in general he spent half a year on the expedition.
The second flight of the cosmonaut started in the fall of 2014 from the Baikonur cosmodrome to the International Space Station. The day after returning from this semi-annual expedition, Samokutyaev turned 45 years old.
Returning to the Earth, the cosmonaut began to prepare for the next shipment on the ISS scheduled for 2018. However, his plans were not destined to come true.
In the spring of 2017, 47-year-old Alexander removed: health did not allow him to fly on a spacecraft for the third time. According to his wife Oksana, this moment became one of the most difficult self-arts.
Later, he was appointed deputy commander of the squad of astronauts in the center of the training of astronauts.
In total, Samokutsyaev twice flew into space for half a year, spent in open space a total of more than 10 hours.
Personal life
The whole personal life of the hero is connected with one woman - Oksana Zosidova. With the future faithful companion Alexander met in the early 90s. They got married, and in 1995 the pair had a daughter, which Anastasia called.
As it should be the family of the military, Oksana and the little Nastya koleli for Alexander from the Far East to the suburbs.
Oksana invariably supported the spouse to one point: when he said that he decided to become a cosmonaut, she was against. According to her own memories, she knew which inhuman loads tolerate cosmonauts. In addition, her publicity was frightened, which was waiting for the whole family, including a daughter.
"Get used to this," Alexander advised himself, then his wife continued to prepare. She needed for several years to finally accept him with his choice and their own experiences. During his first flight Oksana was present at Baikonur.
"I could not believe that he flies into space, until that moment, until the rocket broke away from the Earth," she recalled later in an interview.Oksana and Alexander are married for more than a quarter of a century. A woman prefers a non-public lifestyle, but the spouse sometimes shares personal photos in his instagram account. Their daughter Anastasia adheres to Mamina Policy and leads a closed from an extraneous life. It is only known that in 2018 she married.
Alexander Samokutyaev now
In 2020, Alexander Mikhailovich took up politics: in the additional elections, he ran into the State Duma from the Penza region from the Party of Fair Russia. Most countrymen were supported by him, and the outstanding biography of Samokutayev played a significant role in this.Now he is a valid deputy. In the 2021, Alexander Samokutyaev again nominated his candidacy to participate in the convening of the State Duma - this time from United Russia.
Awards
- The title of "Hero of the Russian Federation"
- Order "For Merit to Fatherland" IV degree
- Order Gagarin
- Anniversary medal "70 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- Medal "For Military Valor" II degree
- Medals of the Ministry of Defense of Russia "For the difference in military service" I, II and III degrees
- Medal "For Service in Air Force"
- Medal Alexei Leonov
- Medal "For Outstanding Public Service" (NASA)
- Medal "For Space Flight" (NASA)
- Honorary sign Korolev
- Honorary citizen of Penza
- Honorary Citizen of the city of Gagarin (Smolensk region)