General information about the profession of astronaut. Profession astronaut

At the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center at VDNKh, with the support of the Roscosmos state corporation, a open lesson for students of the cadet class of the Moscow multidisciplinary school No. 1374 and the Moscow College of Technology, conducted by Russian cosmonaut pilot, Hero of the Russian Federation Fedor Yurchikhin. The event was also attended by Viktor Savinykh - USSR pilot-cosmonaut, twice hero Soviet Union, Nikolai Tikhonov - test cosmonaut, Evgeniy Prokopyev - candidate for the cosmonaut corps.

The lesson “Profession of an astronaut” was the first in a series of meetings between Fyodor Yurchikhin and schoolchildren and students of specialized specialties. During the lesson, the famous cosmonaut and his colleagues spoke about their profession, recalled many incidents that occurred during expeditions, and answered questions from the audience.

Four generations of Russian cosmonautics, four different fates in the profession, four stories of choosing their vocation - the students were able to see space through the eyes of those who were in orbit and those who are just about to take flight. Life path each of them developed differently. And if the younger generation of cosmonauts, inspired by the achievements of Gagarin, Leonov, Titov, dreamed of flying into orbit and studying the Universe from childhood, then their older comrades had no one to look up to.

Viktor Savinykh said that he learned about Yuri Gagarin’s feat at a fairly mature age, being a railway worker and without even thinking about studying astronomy. However, fate decreed that Viktor Petrovich not only followed in Gagarin’s footsteps, but also made a flight that to this day is considered the most difficult from a technical point of view in the history of Russian cosmonautics. An accident occurred at the Salyut-7 orbital station: the station did not send signals, got out of control and began to lose altitude. To prevent the tragedy, a crew consisting of Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savin was sent.

“It turned out that all the power supply at the station was lost due to a sensor failure. The station actually froze: the supply system for oxygen, hot water and other things was turned off. By the way, before the flight, my wife knitted us warm hats, as she knew- remembers Victor Savinykh.

The team coped with the task, restoring the operation of the orbital station. These events were not only set out in the book “Notes from a Dead Station”, written by Viktor Petrovich, but also formed the basis of the film “Salyut-7”, released on Russian screens in 2017.

Nikolai Tikhonov and Evgeniy Prokopyev talked about the intricacies of preparing for flights and answered the most popular question: “Are you not scared?”

- Of course, everyone experiences fear - both a parachutist making his hundredth jump and an astronaut setting off on his next flight. The feeling of fear makes the brain work faster, all senses become more acute. It is important to learn to control fear, use it to your advantage in order to quickly respond to emergency situations and make smart decisions. Preparing for a flight, during which we learn this, gain all kinds of knowledge, is a long and very interesting path,- told Nikolay Tikhonov.

- From this it follows that the profession of astronaut is when it is terribly interesting,- added Fedor Yurchikhin.

Summing up the lesson, Fyodor Nikolaevich expressed the hope that such events will become traditional and will make their contribution to the development of the industry.

- In my childhood, every boy wanted to become an astronaut. Today, across the country, just over 400 representatives of the younger generation show a desire to master this profession. I hope that meetings in the unique space museum of the country, where honored and newly minted cosmonauts will be honest, in simple words tell young people about their profession, will return interest in the exploration of the Universe and help the progress of domestic astronautics, - said Fedor Yurchikhin.

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Since the first human flight into space, a new profession has appeared in the world, for many still shrouded in an aura of heroism and romantic mystery. This is a very rare profession. Currently, there are only 31 active cosmonauts in our country.

There is a lot of work for astronauts. Scientists and... are interested in the development of space. Cooperation proposals come from hundreds different companies and organizations.

Human interplanetary flights are already considered as a near-term reality. Concrete steps are being taken towards the exploration of the Moon. An entire program for the exploration of Mars is being developed using manned rovers. A new generation of transport manned ships is being created.

Interesting fact. An astronaut's spacesuit weighs about 100 kilograms and is made individually for each person.

Description of activity

An astronaut works in space, in a spacecraft during flight, on a space station, and also, if necessary, in outer space.

And yet, most of the time the astronaut is on Earth, where enormous preparatory work is carried out before the flight. Here, his place of work is design bureaus, laboratories, research institutes, the cockpit, and the gym. He must know his ship perfectly, so he participates in all stages of it, up to ground testing of all systems.

The tasks posed during the flight are so diverse that they require the astronaut to have many professions and the ability to endlessly learn. An astronaut is a harmful and hazardous profession for health, so retirement age comes early. However, age is not a serious obstacle to flying. For example, Pavel Vinogradov celebrated his 60th birthday in flight.

Wages

average for Russia:Moscow average:average for St. Petersburg:

What specialty do you need to get?

Job responsibilities

While the astronaut is still on Earth, he participates in drawing up a clear plan and schedule for research, experiments, tests and other tasks that he will perform in space. He must gain experience, knowledge, and skills necessary to complete complex tasks. Currently, the crew usually consists of three people.

While in flight, each crew member is responsible for his part of the work, according to the tasks assigned on the ground. Responsible for maintaining all station components in normal operating mode, their diagnostics, and prevention. tests the ship's systems and is responsible for the flight. is responsible for the health of the crew, sleep patterns, nutrition, conducts planned research, processes and sends the received scientific information to the ground. However, astronauts have such a store of knowledge and skills that, if necessary, they can replace each other or come to the rescue.

Features of career growth

Considering the very strict selection of candidates, the very fact of enrollment in the cosmonaut corps can be considered as a fairly high level of career. Then they will have 1.5 years of general space training, passing an exam, preparing for a flight as part of a group, and, finally, being assigned to crews and waiting. You have to wait from 5 to 10 years for your first flight. But some won't wait.

Some devote their entire lives to astronautics. Others leave the cosmonaut corps due to health or other reasons. Cosmonauts are such a widely and highly educated people that they always find work based on their ideas about their future career. Among them are managers at various levels in the Mission Control Center, scientists, public figures, politicians, and the list goes on.

Employee characteristics

The main requirement is ideal health. Overload and weightlessness require great endurance of the body. Working under conditions of constant stress, enormous responsibility, and often unpredictability is possible provided that you have a healthy, stable psyche.

Space is a job for intellectuals. An astronaut must have sufficiently deep theoretical knowledge in many areas and many practical skills and abilities. The ability and desire to constantly learn is another important quality, which is why astronauts most often have not one, but several higher educations.

Working in space requires a special kind of people. Everything here is serious and honest. Any falsehood in flight can result in a real threat to the life of the crew. Here you can’t seem - you have to be. Be a professional and be responsible for your every action. If you don’t know, find out, if you don’t know how, learn, if it’s scary or painful, learn to overcome yourself; if you want to command, learn to obey. That's the only way. My whole life is white.

One of the most romantic professions is the specialty of astronaut, who is it, what requirements should he meet - read on.

Features of the profession

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Many years have passed since man was able to go into space, but it was the very first flight that became the reason for the emergence of such a rare profession as an astronaut. She is surrounded not only by mystery, but also by heroic romance.

The rarity of this specialty also lies in the fact that today the country has only 31 specialists ready to go into space.

If someone thinks that an astronaut has nothing to do, then he is mistaken, since there is a lot of work for them.

The thing is that outer space attracts:

• scientists;
• various researchers;
• signalmen;
• transport workers, especially logisticians;
• ecologists;
• meteorologists;
• there may be proposals for cooperation from companies that need to use the opportunities of space;
• begins to develop like this profitable view business like space.

Programs are being developed for flights to other planets, neighboring planets are being studied using probes and special mechanisms. A personal spacesuit is made for all astronauts, the weight of which is 100 kg.

What do astronauts do?

The tasks that an astronaut must be able to solve include going into outer space, working in space station laboratories, and being able to control a spacecraft.

• However He spends most of his time in training, which takes place on Earth. Such a person can work as design bureau, and in various laboratories, research institutes, and he also has the right to work as a tester, professional trainer V gyms. Astronauts are constantly learning as technology becomes more complex and the demands and tasks placed on these specialists increase.

Those who are thinking about connecting their lives with space should know what specialty is needed in order to be a more in-demand specialist.

So, you need to choose the following directions for the university:

• where the main profile is astronomy. You should also study gravimetry, geodesy, and space navigation;
• development and design of engines for rockets;
• are engaged in the design of power plants for aircraft or rocket engines;
• carry out design and production, as well as operation of rocket and space complexes;
• where the capabilities of rocket systems and astronautics are studied, etc.

Main characteristics of specialists

Since not everyone can fly into space, it is worth mentioning the main selection parameters:

• ideal health is the most important parameter by which candidates are selected;
• endurance, since the body will experience enormous overloads and the negative effects of weightlessness;
• stable psyche. This is due to the fact that you will have to work in small rooms in a small team, where any nuances and situations are possible.

Now you know about such a rare and attractive profession as an astronaut, who it is, what requirements are imposed, and what specialties may be in demand.

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Lesson summary on the topic “Profession of an astronaut”

Target: Enrich and systematize knowledge about the work of an astronaut, about space flight.
Tasks: Arouse interest in the astronaut profession and the desire to be like an astronaut - strong, healthy, hardy, smart.
Develop curiosity, imagination, thinking.
Foster a sense of pride in Russian cosmonauts.

Equipment: laptop, pictures on space theme, a recording of “space” music, balloons, 2 hoops, cardboard rocket templates, glue and napkins for hands.

Progress of the lesson:

Children listen to “cosmic” music and sit on chairs in a semicircle in front of the monitor.
Educator:
- Guys, today we continue to get acquainted with professions, tell me the professions that we have already met? (children's answers).
- And there is another profession that we will talk about today. Listen to the riddle and I hope you can guess who it is about.

He is not a pilot, not a pilot
He's not flying a plane,
And a huge rocket
Children, who can you tell me this is?

That's right, astronaut!

Today we will talk about the profession of “astronaut”. Now I will tell you about this interesting, complex, and sometimes even dangerous profession.

People have always dreamed of flying to the stars. They came up with different ways to rise into the sky. For example, people invented the hot air balloon. What else did they invent to fly into the sky? (Children's answers). How can you call the transport you listed in one word? (Air). But all this transport was not so strong and could not reach the stars. And so people invented a powerful machine.

Guess what kind of car people invented?

This bird has no wings
But one cannot help but marvel
As soon as the bird spreads its tail -
And will rise to the stars. (Rocket.)

And the rocket was invented by scientific designers, under the guidance chief designer of rocket and space systems, academician S.P. Queen.

(Repeat)

1 “Space rocket” Educator:

Now we will use balloons to see how fast a space rocket flies. We inflate the balloons, and then unclench our fingers.

What's going on with the ball? (He flew up sharply) The space rocket is moving as fast as a ball.

2 “The first cosmonaut” Educator:

The first cosmonaut to fly on space rocket, was Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin (repeat)

In a space rocket

With the name "East"

He is the first on the planet

I was able to rise to the stars.

Sings songs about it

Spring drops:

Will be together forever

Gagarin and April.

- Yu. A. Gagarin made his flight on April 12, 1961 on the Vostok rocket (repeat with children) The flight did not last long at all - only 108 minutes. However, the supplies of air and food on board the Vostok would allow one to spend 10 days in space. Gagarin's landing took place on a collective farm field near one of the regional centers of the Saratov region - the city of Engels. In the area of ​​the village of Smelovka, search services found him just 1 hour later.

3 "The first woman astronaut"

June 16, 1963 - the first woman went into space - Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova,who made a solo space flight on the Vostok-6 spacecraft, which lasted three days.

Guys, would you like to fly into space?

Contest. Build a rocket.

To fly into space, we need rockets. You and I must build them. So, whoever builds a rocket the fastest will be the first to fly to travel around the planets. The guys are on the table, assembling rockets (the boys are called “Vostok”, and the girls are called “Vostok 6”)

Phys. just a minute.

“Fast rockets are waiting for us for walking around the planets...”

Fast rockets are waiting for us, for walking around the planets, we’ll fly to whichever one we want. One, two, three, four, five, we will take off into space. Let's fly (children take their places in the hoop).

4 “Orbital station” Educator:
- A spaceship carries an astronaut into space.
- Where do you think an astronaut lives in space? (Children's answers)
- An astronaut in space has a space home called an orbital station (children repeat in chorus). The orbital station looks like a huge bird that has spread its wings and flies above the earth. The rocket brings astronauts to the station, and itself flies away and burns up in space.
Nowadays, not one person flies into space, but a whole team of three or four astronauts, and these can be astronauts from different countries.

5 “Spacesuit” Educator: - To work, the astronaut leaves the orbital station into outer space. In outer space it is dangerous for human health - there is no air,therefore, astronauts wear special protective clothing - a spacesuit (repeat).

Currently, three types of space suits have been created and tested in real conditions. These are emergency rescue suits, suits for spacewalks and suits for working on the surface of celestial bodies. The last type of spacesuit was used during flights to the Moon.
All space suits have a sealed shell and a system for providing the astronaut with oxygen, an absorption system carbon dioxide and water vapor. Thermal insulation of the spacesuit is provided by a multilayer shell, and its heating or cooling system is usually smelted in the form of tubes through which the coolant fluid circulates. The space suit helmet contains a communication device, as well as feeding systems drinking water and (if necessary) food. The suit also has a sensor system that allows you to monitor the physical condition of the astronaut. Thus, a spacesuit is not only “space clothing” but, in essence, a small individual spacecraft that ensures human life and work in space.

6 “Work on the orbital station” Educator:
- What do you think the astronauts do at the orbital station? (Children's answers).

They are engaged research activities: study the stars, the surface of our earth, check the weather, photograph the Earth. Zero-gravity conditions make it possible to conduct a wide variety of experiments that are unimaginable on earth; research allows us to think about the construction of orbital factories in the near future.

Sooner or later, humanity will have to begin exploring near-Earth space - first the Moon, and then other planets. Already today, leading space powers are developing projects to create lunar cities and develop the subsoil of the Earth’s satellite.

Astronauts work 10 hours a day.

7 “Weightlessness” Educator:
- In the orbital station - weightlessness (repeat with children). All objects are light and a person becomes light as a feather. The concept of “weightlessness” is actually very familiar to us. We experience it every time, just by jumping - at the moment when we are flying down, and our speed becomes equal to the acceleration of free fall. We experience weightlessness when swinging on a swing - at that moment when it freezes for a second before falling down. We experience weightlessness on board a ship, rocking on the waves. The astronaut is in a state of weightlessness the entire time he is at the orbital station.

8 "A Cosmonaut's Dream" Sleep according to the schedule takes 8 hours, but in practice many people rest for only 4-5 hours, and this is enough for them. You have to sleep in sleep masks and with earplugs (these are special earplugs) so that the noise of numerous mechanisms does not interfere.

Astronauts sleep in special sleeping bags, fastened with belts. And if you don’t fasten them, then due to the state of weightlessness they will fly.

Relaxation.

Let us also try to sleep like astronauts in a state of weightlessness. (Children, accompanied by music, depict the poses of sleeping astronauts)

9 “Space food” Educator:

How do you think astronauts eat in zero gravity if everything flies: plates, mugs, spoons, forks? (Children's answers)
- Cosmonauts do not cook their own food; food is delivered to them by a cargo spaceship. The food is pureed and placed in tubes, like toothpaste. When astronauts eat, they squeeze food directly into their mouths; what kind of food can be in these tubes. (Children's answers)

Astronauts are given 2-2.5 hours a day to eat food.

10 “Return to Earth” Educator:

Astronauts can stay in space for a very long time, from several months to a year .
- Here's a signal from Earth. It's time to go home.

How can the astronauts return after their rocket burned up in space?

And the astronauts return home in a special capsule with a parachute.
- On Earth, astronauts are met by doctors, they check their health, military personnel, friends and journalists who interview them.

We have learned so much today about the profession of astronauts. Let's check how attentive you were and what you remembered.

11 “Fixing the material”

The teacher asks the following questions:

Who built the first rocket?

Who was the first astronaut and what was the name of his rocket?
-What is the name of the first woman astronaut and what was the name of her rocket?
- What is the name of the astronauts' house?
-Can you run and jump at the orbital station? Why?
- What do you wear when going into outer space?
- How do astronauts eat? How do astronauts sleep?

Well done!

12 “Final” Educator:
Maybe some of you will also want to become an astronaut?

First you need to do well in school, then graduate educational institution. And then go to become an astronaut.

In Russia, cosmonauts are trained at the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu.A. Gagarin in Star City, near Moscow. During the training process, the astronaut has to visit various organizations and enterprises related to astronautics, where he receives additional knowledge.

Cosmonauts can be absolutely physically healthy people who can swim, run, and ski with the prefix “fast.” But heroes are not selected as celestials either. It is better if it is a person of average build, weighing from 50 to 90 kilograms and no more than 190 centimeters tall.

Today the entire list of Russian and Soviet cosmonauts is 116 people. It seems not so little, but it’s only a hundred people from all over the country.

Hard, painstaking work requires constant tension of will, nerves and enormous internal discipline. But we can be proud of our cosmonauts - brave people and excellent professionals who bring great benefit to their country.

Let's guys try to be like astronauts.

More than 60 years have passed since the first man went into space. Since then, more than 500 people have visited there, more than 50 of them were women. Representatives of 36 countries visited our planet in orbit. Unfortunately, there were victims along this glorious path of humanity.

In Russia and the USA, the first cosmonauts were recruited from among military pilots. But it soon became clear that other professions were also in demand in space. Doctors, engineers, and biologists visited there. Every astronaut is, without a doubt, a hero. However, in this detachment there are the most famous people, whose fame is truly worldwide.

Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968). On April 12, 1961, the Vostok-1 spacecraft launched from Baikonur with the first cosmonaut in history on board. In orbit, Gagarin did simple experiments - ate, drank, took notes. Control of the ship was almost completely automatic - after all, no one knew how a person would behave in new conditions. The astronaut completed 1 revolution around the Earth, which took 108 minutes. The landing took place in the Saratov region. Thanks to this flight, Gagarin gained worldwide fame. He was awarded the extraordinary rank of major, as well as the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The day of the historical flight began to be celebrated as Cosmonautics Day. April 12, 1961 forever changed the life of mankind and Gagarin himself. He became a living symbol. The first cosmonaut visited about 30 countries and received many prizes and awards. Social activities affected flying practice. In 1968, Gagarin began to make up for lost time, but on March 27, his plane lost contact and crashed into the ground. Instructor Seregin also died along with the first cosmonaut.

Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937). The first successful flights of Soviet cosmonauts gave rise to the idea of ​​chief designer Sergei Korolev to launch a woman into space. Since 1962, applicants have been selected throughout the country. Of the five prepared candidates, Tereshkova was chosen, also due to her working background. The female cosmonaut made her first flight on June 16, 1963 on the Vostok-6 spacecraft. The stay in space took three days. But during the flight, problems arose with the orientation of the ship. It turned out that Tereshkova was not feeling well, since in space female physiology makes itself felt. Scientists knew about this, and because of this, they placed Valentina only in 5th place on the list of candidates. However, Khrushchev and Korolev did not listen medical commission. Vostok-6 landed in the Altai region. Until 1997, Valentina Tereshkova served as an astronaut instructor. She then moved to the Cosmonaut Training Center. The first female astronaut led a wealthy social and government activities, being a people's deputy in higher authorities various convocations. Tereshkova manages to remain the only woman to fly alone in space.

Alexey Leonov (born 1934). He is number 11 on the list of Soviet cosmonauts. Leonov gained fame from his flight into space as a co-pilot on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft on March 18-19, 1965. The astronaut performed the first spacewalk in history, which lasted 12 minutes 9 seconds. During those historical moments, Leonov showed exceptional composure - after all, his spacesuit was swollen, which made it difficult to go into space. The ship landed in the remote taiga, and the cosmonauts spent two days in the cold. From 1965 to 1969, Leonov was part of a group of cosmonauts preparing to fly around the Moon and land on it. It was this astronaut who was planned to be the first to set foot on the surface of the Earth's satellite. But the USSR lost that race, and the project was canceled. In 1971, Leonov was supposed to fly into space on Soyuz 11, but the crew was replaced due to health problems in one of its members. The flight of the backups - Dobrovolsky, Volkov and Patsayev - ended in their death. But in 1975, Leonov was in space again, he supervised the docking of ships of two countries (the Soyuz-Apollo project). In 1970-1991, Leonov worked at the Cosmonaut Training Center. This man also became famous for his talent as an artist. He created a whole series of stamps on a space theme. Leonov became twice Hero of the Soviet Union, several documentaries were made about him. A crater on the Moon is named after the astronaut.

Neil Armstrong (b. 1930). By the time he was enrolled in the cosmonaut group, Armstrong had already fought in the Korean War, winning military awards. In March 1968, Armstrong first went into space as commander of the Gemini 8 spacecraft. During that flight, docking with another spacecraft, the Agena rocket, was made for the first time. In July 1969, Apollo 11 was launched with the historic mission of landing on the Moon. On July 20, Neil Armstrong and pilot Edwin Aldrin landed their lunar module in the Sea of ​​Tranquility area. The main module with Michael Collins was waiting for them in orbit. The stay on the surface of the Moon took 21.5 hours. The astronauts also made a walk on the lunar surface, lasting 2.5 hours. The first person to set foot there was Neil Armstrong. Standing on the surface, the astronaut uttered the historical phrase: “This is only one small step for a person, but a huge leap for all humanity." The USAT flag was planted on the Moon, soil samples were collected and scientific instruments were installed. Aldrin became the second man to walk on the moon. Upon their return to Earth, the astronauts were destined for worldwide fame. Armstrong himself served at NASA until 1971, after which he taught at the university and served on the National Space Committee.

Vladimir Komarov (1927-1967). The profession of an astronaut is quite dangerous. Since the beginning of the flights, 22 cosmonauts have died during preparation, takeoffs and landings. The first of them, Valentin Bondarenko, burned down in a fire in a pressure chamber 20 days before Gagarin’s flight. The most shocking thing was the death of Challenger in 1986, which claimed the lives of 7 American astronauts. However, the first cosmonaut to die directly during the flight was Vladimir Komarov. His first flight took place in 1964 together with Konstantin Feoktistov and Boris Egorov. For the first time, the crew of the ship did without spacesuits, and on board, in addition to the pilot, there was an engineer and a doctor. In 1965, Komarov was part of the preparation group for the Soyuz program. Gagarin himself became the understudy. Those years were marked by a crazy political space race. "Soyuz" became its victim, having many shortcomings. On April 23, 1967, Soyuz-1 with Komarov on board took off into space. But upon completion, the main parachute did not open, and the descent module crashed into the ground at great speed. Orenburg region. Even the remains of the astronaut were not immediately recognized. The urn with Komarov's ashes was buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square.

Toyohiro Akiyama (born 1942). There is no doubt that in the future astronautics will take a commercial route. The idea of ​​sending non-governmental tourists into space has been in the sky for a long time. The first sign could have been the American Christa McAuliffe, but during her first and last launch she died while aboard the Challenger on January 28, 1986. The first space tourist to pay for his own flight was Dennis Tito in 2001. However, the era of paid travel beyond the Earth began even earlier. On December 2, 1990, Soyuz TM-11 took off into the sky, on board of which, along with Soviet cosmonauts Afanasyev and Manarov, was the Japanese journalist Toyohiro Akiyama. He became the first representative of his country in space and the first for whose flight a non-governmental organization paid money. The television company TBS celebrated its 40th anniversary in this way, paying from 25 to 38 million dollars for the stay of its employee in orbit. The Japanese flight lasted almost 8 days. During this time, he showed insufficient training, which manifested itself in a disorder of the vestibular apparatus. Akiyama also conducted several reports for Japan, television lessons for schoolchildren and biological experiments.

Yang Liwei (born 1965). Another superpower, China, could not interfere in the space race between the USSR and SA. The first ethnic Chinese to go into space was Taylor Wang back in 1985. However, Beijing has long had its own program, starting it back in 1956. At the end of the summer of 2003, three cosmonauts were selected and prepared for the first launch. The public learned the name of the first taikonaut only a day before the flight. On October 15, 2003, the Long March (Long March) launch vehicle launched the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft into orbit. The next day, the astronaut landed in the Inner Mongolia region. During this time, he made 14 revolutions around the Earth. Yang Liwei immediately became a national hero in China. He received the title “Hero of Space”, and an asteroid was even named in his honor. This flight showed the seriousness of China's plans. Thus, in 2011, an orbital station was launched, and even the United States was left behind in the number of space object launches.

John Glenn (b. 1921). This pilot also took part in the Korean War, even achieving three victories in the sky. In 1957, Glenn set a transcontinental flight record. But that is not what he is remembered for. The glory of the first American astronaut is divided between John Glenn and Alan Shepard. But his flight on May 5, 1961, although the first, was suborbital. And Glenn, on July 21, 1961, made the first full-fledged orbital flight for the United States. His Mercury 6 made three revolutions around the Earth in 5 hours. Upon his return, Glenn became a US national hero. In 1964, he left the astronaut corps and went into business and politics. From 1974 to 1999, Glenn served as a senator from Ohio, and in 1984 he even became a presidential candidate. On October 29, 1998, the astronaut took to space again, serving as a payload specialist. At that time, John Glenn was 77 years old. He not only became the oldest cosmonaut, but also set a record for the time between flights - 36 years. The flight of a crew of 7 people took almost 9 days, during which time the Shuttle made 135 revolutions around the Earth.

Sergei Krikalev (born 1958). Two people, Jerry Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz, have been in space 7 times. But the record for time spent in orbit belongs to Soviet and Russian cosmonauts. He launched into the sky 6 times, spending a total of 803 days in space. Having received higher education, Krikalev worked in ground flight control services. In 1985, he was already selected for space flights. His first launch took place in 1988 as part of an international crew with Alexander Volkov and the Frenchman Jean-Louis Chrétien. They worked at the Mir station for almost six months. The second flight took place in 1991. Krikalev remained on the Mir, contrary to the original plans, remaining to work with the new crew. As a result, during the first two flights, the astronaut had already spent more than a year and three months in space. During this time, he also completed 7 spacewalks. In February 1994, Krikalev became the first Russian to take to the skies on the American Shuttle. It was our compatriot who was appointed to the first crew of the ISS, having visited there in 1998 on the Endeavor shuttle. Sergei Krikalev even met the new, 21st century in orbit. The astronaut made his last flight in 2005, having lived on the ISS for six months.

Valery Polyakov (born 1942). Polyakov's profession is a doctor, he became a doctor of medical sciences and a professor. In the history of the USSR and Russia, Polyakov became cosmonaut No. 66. He holds the record for the longest stay in space. Polyakov spent 437 days and 18 hours in Earth orbit during 1994-1995. And the astronaut made his first flight back in 1988, being above the Earth from August 29, 1988 to April 27, 1989. That flight lasted 240 days, for which Valery Polyakov received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The second record was already a record, for which the cosmonaut received the title of Hero of Russia. In total, Polyakov spent 678 days in space, second only to three people - Krikalev, Kaleri and Avdeev.