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| Leonid Kizim | |
|---|---|
| Name | Leonid Kizim |
| Native name | Леонид Кизим |
| Birth date | 5 March 1941 |
| Birth place | Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union |
| Death date | 14 June 2010 |
| Death place | Moscow Oblast, Russia |
| Occupation | Air Force officer, Cosmonaut |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Missions | Soyuz T-3, Soyuz T-10/T-11, Soyuz T-15 |
Leonid Kizim was a Soviet cosmonaut and Soviet Air Force officer who flew multiple long-duration missions during the 1980s, including command of the first mission to visit two separate orbital complexes. He played roles in Salyut operations and the early years of the Mir era, working with cadres from RKK Energia, TsUP, and the Soviet space program leadership. His career bridged operational Soyuz flights, modular station logistics, and interactions with contemporaries from the Interkosmos and Buran eras.
Born in Donetsk Oblast within the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, he grew up during the period of World War II aftermath and Cold War consolidation. He attended Soviet Air Force training pathways influenced by institutions such as the Yeysk Military Aviation Institute and regional aviation school systems common to cadres from Ukraine and the wider Soviet Union. Early service in tactical aviation led to postings associated with bases linked to the Strategic Rocket Forces and operational commands aligned with Aerospace Defense Forces norms.
Commissioned into the Soviet Air Force, he advanced through pilot training alongside contemporaries who became cosmonauts like Yuri Romanenko, Gennady Strekalov, Vladimir Lyakhov, and Vladislav Volkov. He served in units that interacted with airfields used by the Soyuz flight-test community and training centers run by RKK Energia and the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Selected to the cosmonaut corps in a cohort that included veterans from the Salyut programme and the Interkosmos initiative, his selection was part of broader personnel moves during the 1970s and 1980s space efforts overseen by figures such as Dmitry Ustinov and administrators at TsUP.
He commanded multiple long-duration Soyuz missions including flights to Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and the nascent Mir complex, collaborating with crew members drawn from Interkosmos partners and Soviet peers like Oleg Atkov, Volkov, Aleksandr Serebrov, and Vladimir Solovyov. His missions involved complex rendezvous and docking operations with station modules developed by NPO Energia and logistics planning coordinated with Baikonur Cosmodrome launch campaigns. Notably, he commanded the flight that performed the first visit of a single crew to two separate orbital complexes, executing transfers between Salyut 7 and the newly launched Mir core module, tasks requiring integration with Soyuz TM systems and EVA planning used later in Mir EO expeditions. His time aboard stations included scientific payloads and life-support experiments similar to programs run under Academy of Sciences of the USSR protocols and medical research linked to Institute of Biomedical Problems studies.
For his service he was decorated with titles and medals awarded by the Soviet Union and allied institutions, including the Hero of the Soviet Union and orders such as the Order of Lenin and campaign medals tied to achievements in spaceflight and long-duration missions. He received commendations from agencies connected to RKK Energia, recognition at ceremonies involving officials from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and honors that placed him among peers like Sergei Krikalev and Valery Ryumin in lists of decorated Soviet cosmonauts.
After active flight duty he continued to contribute to post-flight programs, advising organizations such as TsUP, participating in veteran cosmonaut councils, and engaging with institutions preserving Soviet space heritage including museums in Moscow and displays linked to Baikonur Cosmodrome. His legacy is cited in histories of the Soviet space program, analyses of station operations in the 1980s, and retrospectives on modular station assembly that connect to later international projects like the International Space Station. He is remembered alongside peers from the era such as Georgy Grechko, Alexei Leonov, and Valentina Tereshkova for contributions to sustained human presence in low Earth orbit.
Category:Soviet cosmonauts Category:Heroes of the Soviet Union Category:1941 births Category:2010 deaths