Yelena Kondakova, born March 30, 1957, is the third Russian woman in space. Her first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-20 as flight engineer to the Mir space station in October 1994. After five months, she returned to Earth in March 1995.
Her second trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-84) as mission specialist to Mir in May 1997.
Soyuz TM-20 crew (L-R): Aleksandr Viktorenko, Yelena Kondakova, Ulf Merbold
Mission patch
Soyuz TM-20, launched October 4, 1994, was the 20th mission to the Mir space station. Its crew consisted of Commander Aleksandr Viktorenko, Yelena Kondakova, and Ulf Merbold (ESA).
Merbold returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-19, while Viktorenko and Kondakova remained on the space station as part of Mir EO-17. Valeri Polyakov, who had been on board since Mir EO-15 returned to Earth with them in March 1995.
Valery Ryumin, born August 16, 1939 in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of three Soyuz missions and one Space Shuttle flight.
His first mission into space was aboard Soyuz 25 in October 1977 as Flight Engineer. It was the first mission to new Salyut 6, but after five attempts failed at engaging docking latches, the trip was aborted. This led to a new rule such that every crew had to have at least one non-rookie on board.
His second flight was aboard Soyuz 32 to Salyut 6, launched in February 1979. Although he and Commander Vladimir Lyakhov docked successfully, the visiting crew did not. The Soviets decided to have Soyuz 32 returned to Earth with no one aboard, to serve as a replacement vehicle. They returned to Earth on Soyuz 34 in August.
Just eight months later, Ryumin was back in space aboard Soyuz 35 to Salyut 6. He spent 185 days in space, setting a new record for the time. He returned to Earth October 1980 on Soyuz 37.
His final mission into space was aboard Discovery (STS-91) in June 1998. It was the final Space Shuttle mission to the Mir space Station.
He is married to fellow cosmonaut Yelena Kondakova.
Front Row (L-R): Jerry Linenger, Charles Precourt, Michael Foale;
Back Row (L-R): Jean-Francois Clervoy, Eileen Collins, Ed Lu, Yelena Kondakova, Carlos Noriega
Mission patch
Atlantis (STS-84), launched May 17, 1997, was the sixth shuttle mission to the space station Mir. Its crew consisted of Commander Charles Precourt, Pilot Eileen Collins, Jean-Francois Clervoy, Carlos Noriega, Ed Lu, Yelena Kondakova and Michael Foale.
Michael Foale stayed aboard as part of Expedition Mir EO-23, and Jerry Linenger returned with the STS-84 crew on May 24.
Aleksandr Viktorenko, born March 29, 1947 in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of four Soyuz missions.
His first mission was as Commander of Soyuz TM-3, which launched July 1987 to the space station Mir. The flight was notable since fellow cosmonaut Muhammed Faris, was the first Syrian in space. They made up the crew of Mir EP-1, but they were not a long-term duration crew. They returned aboard Soyuz TM-2 about a week later.
His second mission was also as Commander aboard Soyuz TM-8 to Mir. He and fellow cosmonaut Aleksandr Serebrov were the 5th long term crew, Mir EO-5. They launched September 5, 1989 and returned February 19, 1990, after 166 days in space.
His third flight as commander was aboard Soyuz TM-14 to Mir, which launched March 17, 1992. It was the first Russian mission after the collapse of the Soviet Union. With Aleksandr Kaleri, they made up Mir EO-11 and retunred to Earth August 10, after 149 days in space.
Viktorenko's fourth and final mission was Commander on Soyuz TM-20 to Mir in October 1994, where he and Yelena Kondakova were crew Mir EO-17. They returned to Earth in March 1995 after 169 days in space.
In total, Viktorenko has spent a total of 489 days in space. He retired May 30, 1997.
