Sergey Volkov (cosmonaut)

Did You Know?

• Volkov is the first second-generation cosmonaut and space walker, the son of cosmonaut Aleksandr Volkov.
• His recreational activities include tennis, windsurfing, reading, and visiting museums.

Cosmonaut career

Volkov completed general cosmonaut training from December 1997 to November 1999 and qualified as a test cosmonaut in November 1999. Beginning in January 2000, he trained with a group of test cosmonauts for missions to the International Space Station.

From August 2001 to February 2003, he trained as part of the Expedition 7 backup crew as a Soyuz-TMA Commander and ISS Flight Engineer. From January 2005 to February 2006, he trained with a group of test cosmonauts for ISS missions. In February 2006, he was assigned to the Expedition 13 backup crew and Visiting Crew 10 as a Soyuz TMA Flight Engineer 2 and an ISS Visiting Crew Flight Engineer.

Expedition 17

In June 2006, Volkov was appointed to the Expedition 17 prime crew as Soyuz TMA Commander and ISS Commander. Soyuz TMA-12 launched on 8 April 2008, carrying Volkov, fellow cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, and South Korean spaceflight participant Yi So-Yeon.

Volkov commanded ISS Expedition 17, which lasted from April to October 2008. He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-12 on 24 October 2008 with Kononenko and space tourist Richard Garriott, the son of astronaut Owen K. Garriott. The spacecraft landed at 03:36 GMT 55 miles north of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan; the crew was then lifted by helicopter to the Baikonur Cosmodrome and flown to Zvezdny Gorodok (Star City) in Moscow.

Expedition 28/29

Volkov returned to space on 7 June 2011 (UTC) aboard Soyuz TMA-02M to join Expedition 28. The Expedition 28 crews worked with 111 experiments involving approximately 200 researchers across fields including human life sciences, physical sciences, and Earth observation, and conducted technology demonstrations in areas such as recycling and robotics.

Seventy-three experiments were sponsored by NASA, including 22 under the U.S. National Laboratory program, and 38 by international partners. More than 540 hours of research were planned. Many experiments gathered data on the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body, including immune system studies, to support future exploration missions.

Expedition 45/46

Sergey Volkov launched on his third trip to the International Space Station as commander of Soyuz TMA-18M on 2 September 2015, accompanied by visiting crew members Andreas Mogensen and Aidyn Aimbetov. The spacecraft docked to the Poisk Module two days later, on 4 September, because a higher station orbit prevented the normal six-hour rendezvous. Mogensen and Aimbetov returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-16M, while Volkov remained on the station until March 2016.

During Expedition 46, Volkov performed his fourth career extravehicular activity with veteran cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, lasting 4 hours and 45 minutes. Volkov landed with Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko on 2 March 2016 at 01:02:48 UTC aboard Soyuz TMA-18M, concluding Expedition 46 and beginning Expedition 47. The landing occurred two and a half hours later, ending the 11-month mission of Kelly and Korniyenko.