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, cosmonaut Aleksandr Samokutyayev!

Aleksandr Samokutyayev, born March 13, 1970 in Penza, Russia, has been into space twice.  

His first flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-21 as commander to the International Space Station in April 2011.  He participated in Expeditions 27 and 28.  During Expedition 28, he conducted an EVA with fellow cosmonaut Sergey Volkov for 6 hours 23 minutes.  He returned to Earth in September 2011.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz TMA-14M as commander to the International Space Station in September 2014.  He participated in Expeditions 41 and 42, during which he conducted a second EVA with fellow cosmonaut Maksim Surayev. He returned to Earth in March 2015. 

Happy birthday, astronaut Barry Wilmore!

Barry Wilmore, born December 29, 1962 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has been in space twice, and will return in 2021.

His first trip into space was aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) as pilot to the International Space Station in November 2009. He celebrated Thanksgiving with the other crew members and the residents of the International Space Station.

His second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-10M to the International Space Station in September 2014.  He participated in Expeditions 41 and 42.  He returned to Earth in March 2015 after more than 167 days in space.

He is scheduled to be commander of the Boeing Crewed Flight Test (Boe-CFT), the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station, expected to launch in July 2021.

Soyuz TMA-14M launched 2015

Soyuz TMA-14M crew (L-R): Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Barry Wilmore, Yelena Serova

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-14M, launched September 25, 2014, carried members of Expedition 41 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted Commander Aleksandr Samokutyayev (Roscosmos), Yelena Serova (Roscosmos) and Barry Wilmore (NASA).

The crew also participated in Expedition 42 before returning to Earth in March 2015.

Happy birthday, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst!

Alexander Gerst, born May 3, 1976 in West Germany, is an astronaut for the European Space Agency.  He has been in space twice.

His first into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-13M as flight engineer in May 2014 to the International Space Station.  He participated in Expeditions 40 and 41.  He returned to Earth in November 2014.

His second trip was aboard Soyuz MS-09 in June 2018 as flight engineer to the ISS.  He participated in Expeditions 56 and 57.  He returned to Earth in December 2018.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Yelena Serova!

Yelena Serova, born April 22, 1976 in the former Soviet Union, is the fourth Soviet woman in space.  Her single trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-14M to the International Space Station in September 2014.  She participated in Expeditions 41 and 42 before returning to Earth in March 2015.