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| Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps | |
|---|---|
| Name | Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps |
| Established | 1960 |
| Type | Flight crew corps |
| Headquarters | Star City |
| Parent | Roscosmos |
Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps is the corps of professional spaceflight personnel responsible for human spaceflight operations under the Russian space agency. The corps traces its lineage through Soviet-era institutions and Cold War programs to contemporary partnerships with International Space Station, European Space Agency, NASA, and commercial ventures. It provides trained personnel for long-duration missions to orbital platforms such as Mir, Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Zvezda modules while contributing to collaborative projects like Soyuz (spacecraft), Progress (spacecraft), and crewed commercial initiatives.
The origins of the corps lie in Soviet selection programs initiated before Yuri Gagarin's flight, linked to organizations such as TsKBEM, OKB-1, and the Soviet Air Force training pipelines that produced early cosmonauts including Gherman Titov, Valentina Tereshkova, Alexei Leonov, and Pavel Belyayev. During the 1960s and 1970s, the corps expanded through projects like the Vostok programme, Voskhod programme, and Soyuz programme, engaging design bureaux such as Mikhail Tikhonravov's teams and industry partners including Energia (company) and RKK Energia. The corps adapted through the Soviet–Afghan War era, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of Russian Federal Space Agency before reconstituting under Roscosmos and supporting Mir deorbiting, International Space Station assembly, and joint missions with European Space Agency, JAXA, CSA, and NASA during the 1990s and 2000s.
The corps is organized into operational, medical, and training divisions aligned with institutional partners including Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center, RKK Energia, TsNIIMash, and Krasnoyarsk Medical Institute affiliates. Command and staffing integrate with Mission Control Center (TsUP), Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, and flight operations coordination with Baikonur Cosmodrome, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, and future staging at Vostochny Cosmodrome. Leadership roles reference positions analogous to flight directors in Mission Control Center (Houston), with liaison relationships to European Astronaut Centre, JAXA Astronaut Office, and Johnson Space Center. Career progression includes assignments on Expedition (ISS), backup crewing rotations, and specialist tracks tied to hardware from Energiya, TsSKB-Progress, and NPO Lavochkin.
Selection pipelines historically recruited candidates from the Soviet Air Force, Russian Navy, and civilian disciplines such as Moscow Aviation Institute, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, and medical faculties affiliated with Sechenov University. Candidate evaluation mirrors standards used by European Space Agency and NASA Astronaut Group procedures, encompassing centrifuge training at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, survival courses near Lake Baikal and Altai, and neutral buoyancy training comparable to Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Training covers systems on Soyuz (spacecraft), Orlan (space suit), and docking procedures with International Space Station modules including Zarya, Zvezda, Poisk, and Harmony. Cross-training with NASA and ESA enables proficiency in robotics like the Canadarm2 and procedures for international payloads such as those from European Space Agency and JAXA.
Cosmonauts serve as commanders, flight engineers, mission specialists, and research officers on platforms including International Space Station expeditions, test flights of Soyuz-MS, and mission-specific sorties to spacecraft developed by RKK Energia and TsSKB-Progress. They conduct extravehicular activity using Orlan (space suit), operate scientific experiments from institutes such as Russian Academy of Sciences and INR RAS, and support technology demonstrations from organizations like Rosatom and Roscosmos State Corporation. The corps also contributes to emergency procedures, search-and-rescue cooperation with EMERCOM of Russia, and commercial crew flights integrated with partners like Space Adventures and proposed collaborations involving Axiom Space.
Prominent members include pioneers and mission specialists such as Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova, Alexei Leonov, Sergei Krikalev, Gennady Padalka, Anatoly Solovyev, Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Mikhail Korniyenko, Oleg Kononenko, and Peggy Whitson-linked cross-training examples. Other notable figures with roles in diplomacy, science, or command include Vladislav Volkov, Vasily Lazarev, Svetlana Savitskaya, Yelena Serova, Konstantin Feoktistov, Georgi Grechko, Valery Polyakov, Aleksandr Volkov and international exchange participants such as Ulf Merbold and Jean-Loup Chrétien.
Key equipment includes the Soyuz (spacecraft), Orlan (space suit), Sokol space suit, training centrifuges, and neutral buoyancy pools at the Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center. Launch infrastructure includes Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pads used for Soyuz-FG and Soyuz-2 vehicles, with mission control operated from Mission Control Center (TsUP) in Korolyov, Moscow Oblast. Research facilities interface with Moscow State University, Kurchatov Institute, and medical monitoring from Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP). Recovery and landing support use assets from Vladimirsky District search teams and air assets such as Antonov An-26 and helicopters from Mil (company) fleets.
The corps engages in bilateral and multilateral programs with NASA, European Space Agency, JAXA, CSA, and commercial entities like SpaceX and Axiom Space through crew exchange agreements, joint training at Johnson Space Center and European Astronaut Centre, and participation in multinational experiments coordinated by International Space Station partner boards. Historic collaborations include Apollo–Soyuz Test Project links to Apollo program personnel and cooperative roles in Shenzhou-era dialogues with China National Space Administration. Ongoing initiatives involve interoperability standards with International Space Station partners, contribution to future low Earth orbit commercialization, and potential participation in lunar gateway planning alongside NASA Artemis program stakeholders and industrial contractors such as Roscosmos State Corporation partners.
Category:Russian spaceflight