Happy birthday, space tourist Richard Garriott!

Richard Garriott, born July 4, 1961 in Cambridge, England, is the son of NASA astronaut Owen K. Garriott.  He went into space aboard Soyuz TMA-13 in October 2008 as a private citizen to the International Space Station.  He remained on board for 12 days and returned on Soyuz TMA-12.  His father Owen was present at blast-off and touchdown in Kazakhstan.

It was the second time a son of an astronaut had gone into space.  The first was Sergey Volkov, son of Alexander Volkov, who went into space aboard Soyuz TMA-12 in April 2008.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Alexander Volkov!

Alexander (Aleksandr) Volkov, born May 27, 1948 in present-day Ukraine, is a veteran of three space flights, and is the father of cosmonaut Sergey Volkov.

His first mission was aboard Soyuz T-14 launched in September 1985 to Salyut 7.  It was the ninth mission to the space station.  He returned to Earth in November 1985.

His second mission was as commander aboard Soyuz TM-7 to Mir in November 1988. He was part of expedition Mir EO-4 and conducted an EVA with French astronaut Jean-Loup Chretien.  He returned to Earth in April 1989.

His third and final mission was as commander aboard Soyuz TM-13 to Mir in October 1991 as part of expedition Mir EO-10.  He and fellow cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev were dubbed as "the last citizens of the USSR" because when they landed in March 1992, the Soviet Union had dissolved.

Soyuz T-14 launched 1985

Soyuz T-14 crew (L-R): Alexander Volkov, Vladimir Vasyutin, Georgi Grechko

Soyuz T-14, launched September 17, 1985, was the ninth expedition to space station Salyut 7.  Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Vasyutin, Georgi Grechko and Alexander Volkov.  The trip was cut short due to Vasyutin becoming ill and had to return to Earth for treatment. Grechko stayed aboard the space station and Viktor Savinykh returned with the Soyuz T-14 crew in November 1985.

Soyuz TM-7 launched 1988

Soyuz TM-7 crew (L-R):  Jean-Loup Chretien, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev

Mission patch

Soyuz TM-7, launched November 26, 1988, was the seventh manned mission to the Mir space station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev and Jean-Loup Chretien (CNES).  Then French president Francois Mitterand viewed the launch with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Nick Mason. 

Chretien became the first non-American/non-Soviet person to conduct an EVA when he went outside Mir with Volkov for 6 hours to install a French experimental structure.

Chretien returned to Earth a month later on Soyuz TM-6, but Volkov and Krikalyov remained on board as part of Mir EO-4 expedition and returned in April 1989 with Valeri Polyakov. 

Soyuz TM-13 launched 1991

Soyuz TM-13 crew (L-R): Toktar Aubakirov, Alexander Volkov, Franz Viehbock

Mission patch

Soyuz TM-13 launched October 2, 1991 with an Austrian astronaut and a Kazakh astronaut.  Its crew consisted of Commander Alexander Volkov, Toktar Aubakirov, and Franz Viehbock.  Viehbock was the first astronaut from Austria to venture into space.  Toktar Aubakirov was from Kazakhstan (although not an independent country at the time), and Russia hoped by carrying a Kazakh astronaut, his country would continue to allow them to launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Viehbock and Aubakirov stayed aboard Mir for only about a week and returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-12.

Volkov remained on Mir for 175 days and returned on March 25, 1992 with Sergei Krikalev and Klaus-Dietrich Flade.  Volkov and Krikalev were considered the "last citizens of the USSR" since they had launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (a part of the USSR) and landed in the independent Republic of Kazakhstan.

Happy birthday, French cosmonaut Jean Loup Chretien!

Jean-Loup Chretien, born August 20, 1938, is a French cosmonaut who has flown two Soyuz missions and one Space Shuttle flight.

His first mission was aboard Soyuz T-6 in June 1982 to Salyut 7.  It was the first time a Frenchman had flown in space.  He spent about a week in space before returning to Earth in early June.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz TM-7 in November 1988 to Mir.  He conducted an EVA with fellow cosmonaut Alexander Volkov, which lasted almost 6 hours.  He is the first non-American, non-Russian to walk in space.  He returned 24 days later aboard Soyuz TM-6.

His third and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-86) as mission specialist to Mir in September-October 1997.

Vladimir Vasyutin, Soyuz and Salyut cosmonaut, born 1952

Vladimir Vasyutin, born March 8, 1952 in the Ukraine, spent just under 65 days in space on Salyut 7.  He flew into space as commander of Soyuz T-14 in September 1985 with Georgi Grechko and Alexander Volkov as part of the EO-4 expedition. 

Shortly after his arrival, Vasyutin became ill, probably due to a prostate infection, and they had to cut their mission short, because he couldn't perform his duties.  Vasyutin, Volkov and Savinykh returned to Earth November 21, 1985.

He did not go into space again.  He died of cancer July 2002.