Happy birthday, cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev!

Sergei Avdeyev, born January 1, 1956 in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of three space flights and once held the record for total time spent in space.

His first mission was aboard Soyuz TM-15 as flight engineer launched in July 1992 to the space station Mir.  He spent almost 189 days in space.

His second flight was aboard Soyuz TM-22 as flight engineer launched in September 1995 to Mir.  He spent over 179 days in space.

His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TM-28 as flight engineer launched in August 1998 to Mir.  He spent 379 days in space and returned on Soyuz TM-29 in August 1999.

He has conducted 10 EVAs for a total of 42 hours and 2 minutes.

Soyuz TM-22 launched 1995

Soyuz TM-22 crew (L-R): Yuri Gidzenko, Thomas Reiter, Sergei Avdeyev

Mission patch

Soyuz TM-22, launched September 3, 1995, carried three cosmonauts to the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Avdeyev and Thomas Reiter (ESA).  They docked with Mir on September 5 and returned to Earth February 29, 1996.

Soyuz TM-28 launched 1998

Soyuz TM-28 crew (L-R):   Yuri Baturin, Gennady Padalka, Sergei Avdeyev

Soyuz TM-28 mission match

Soyuz TM-28, the 26th mission to the space station Mir, launched August 13, 1998.  Its crew consisted of Commander Gennady Padalka, Sergei Avdeyev and Yuri Baturin, who is the first Russian politician in space.

When Soyuz TM-28 returned to Earth in February 1999, Padalka was the only original crew member on board.  Flight Engineer Sergei Avdeyev stayed until August 1999, returning on Soyuz TM-29. 

Baturin stayed on Mir for about a week and a half, returning to Earth August 25 aboard Soyuz TM-27.

However, Padalka was not alone on his return trip.  Slovakian cosmonaut Ivan Bella returned on Soyuz TM-28 after a week stay on Mir.  He arrived on Soyuz TM-29 February 20.

Soyuz TM-15 launched 1992

Soyuz TM-15 crew (L-R): Michel Tognini, Anatoly Solovyev, Sergei Avdeyev

Mission patch

Soyuz TM-15, launched July 27, 1992, was the fifteenth mission to the Mir space station.  Its crew consisted of  Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Sergei Avdeyev and Michel Tognini (CNES). 

Tognini is a National Center for Space Studies astronaut and took part in the mission as a joint project between Russia and France.