Happy birthday, cosmonaut Maksim Surayev!

Maksim Surayev, born May 24, 1972 in the former USSR, is a veteran of two space missions.

His first flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-16 to the International Space Station, launched in September 2009.  He participated in Expeditions 21 and 22. 

His second and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-13M to the International Space Station in May 2014.  He participated in Expeditions 40 and 41.  He returned to Earth in November 2014.

Surayev conducted two EVAs.  The first on January 14, 2010 with fellow cosmonaut Oleg Kotov.  The second with Aleksandr Samokutyaev in October 22, 2014.  The total time he has spent on EVAs is 9 hours, 22 minutes.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Nicole Stott!

Nicole Stott, born November 19, 1962 in Albany, New York, has been in space two times.

Her first trip was aboard Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in August 2009. She performed an EVA with fellow astronaut John Olivas for 6 hours and 35 minutes.

Stott remained on board the ISS as part of Expeditions 20 and 21.  She returned Earth aboard Atlantis (STS-129) in November 2009. 

Her second and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-133) as mission specialist to the ISS in February-March 2011.  She has stayed more than 103 days in space.

Soyuz TMA-16 launched 2009

Soyuz TMA-16 (L-R): Guy Laliberte, Jeffrey Williams, Maksim Surayev

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-16, launched September 30, 2009, carried members of Expedition 21 crew and a Canadian space tourist to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Maksim Surayev (Roscosmos), Jeffrey Williams (NASA) and Guy Laliberte.  

Laliberte remained in space for 10 days and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-14.

Surayev and Williams participated in Expeditions 21 and 22.  They returned to Earth March 2010.

Happy birthday, Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk!

Robert Thirsk, born August 17, 1953 in British Columbia, Canada, has been in space twice.  He holds the Canadian record for most time spent in space - 204 days, 18 hours.

His first trip was aboard Columbia (STS-78) as payload specialist in June 1996.  The mission was in preparation for the International Space Station.  He stayed in space for almost 17 days.

His second trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-15 to the International Space Station in May 2009.  He participated in Expeditions 20 and 21.  He returned to Earth in December 2009.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Roman Romanenko!

Roman Romanenko, born August 9, 1971 in the former Soviet Union, is a cosmonaut and a veteran of two expeditions on the International Space Station.  His father is cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko, a Soyuz and Mir cosmonaut.

Romanenko's first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-15 to the ISS in May 2009, where he became part of Expeditions 20 and 21.  He was the third second-generation astronaut after Sergey Volkov and Richard Garriott. 

His second trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-07M in December 2012.  He was a member of Expeditions 34 and 35.  He conducted his first space walk during this mission.

He has since retired from Roscosmos.