This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Dmitry Kondratyev | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dmitry Kondratyev |
| Birth date | 1969-07-01 |
| Birth place | Izhevsk, Udmurtia, RSFSR |
| Occupation | Test pilot, Roscosmos cosmonaut |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Rank | Colonel |
Dmitry Kondratyev (born 1 July 1969) is a Russian cosmonaut and former Russian Air Force fighter pilot who flew aboard Soyuz TMA-20 and served on the International Space Station. He trained at the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy and the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center before selection to the Roscosmos cosmonaut corps, and later worked on international crew rotations involving NASA, ESA, and JAXA partners. Kondratyev's career intertwines with programs and figures from the post-Soviet era including missions linked to Expedition 26 and collaborations with crews from United States and Japan.
Kondratyev was born in Izhevsk, Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. He attended local schools in Udmurtia before enrolling at the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy and later the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center preparatory programs. His formative training involved institutions associated with Tupolev, MiG-29, and flight test curricula similar to those at the Kazan Aircraft Plant and Sokol Aviation Plant. During this period he encountered personnel from Russian Space Forces, Roscosmos, RSC Energia, and other aerospace organizations.
Kondratyev began as an officer in the Russian Air Force, serving as a pilot on types developed by Mikoyan and working alongside units influenced by the legacy of Soviet Air Defence Forces. He advanced through postings that connected him with the Ministry of Defence (Soviet Union) transition structures and attended advanced training related to test pilots and flight evaluation. His service brought him into contact with establishments such as the Central Air Force Academy and the Chkalov Central Flight Research Institute, leading to his nomination and selection into the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center intake that prepared candidates for Roscosmos flight assignments. Kondratyev was formally selected into the cosmonaut corps during a period when NASA–Roscosmos cooperation and commercial partnerships with entities like RSC Energia and TsSKB-Progress were central to crew rotations.
Kondratyev flew as commander on Soyuz TMA-20, launching to the International Space Station where he served as a flight engineer during Expedition 26 operations. On station, his activities integrated with experiments sponsored by NASA, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and contributing institutions such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration research centers. He operated aboard modules including Zvezda, Zarya, Poisk, and worked with visiting vehicles like Progress, Dragon, and H-II Transfer Vehicle. His mission overlapped with crewmates and colleagues from United States, Italy, Germany, Japan, and Canada, and intersected operationally with flight directors from Johnson Space Center and program managers at Mission Control Center (Korolyov).
After returning from his ISS expedition, Kondratyev engaged in ground assignments within Roscosmos and at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, supporting crew training and mission support alongside specialists from RSC Energia, TsNIIMash, and international partners including ESA and NASA. He contributed to readiness activities for future Soyuz flights and liaised with technical teams at Baikonur Cosmodrome and Vostochny Cosmodrome launch complexes. Kondratyev also participated in public outreach events with organizations such as Moscow Aviation Institute, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, and museums tied to Cosmonautics history, collaborating with figures from the Russian aerospace community and allied institutions involved in long-duration mission planning.
Kondratyev is married with family links in Izhevsk and maintains ties to communities in Moscow and Samara Oblast where aerospace families commonly reside. He has been recognized with service awards associated with the Ministry of Defence (Russian Federation), honors reflecting contributions to Russian human spaceflight and affiliations with veteran organizations such as Russian Cosmonaut Federation. His decorations include medals consistent with those conferred by Roscosmos and military commendations tied to his rank of colonel, aligning him with recipients from Soviet and Russian spaceflight heritage.
Category:Russian cosmonauts Category:1969 births Category:People from Izhevsk