Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorbunov (Russian: Александр Владимирович Горбунов; born 24 May 1990) is a Russian cosmonaut and aerospace engineer. A native of Zheleznogorsk, he graduated with a degree in engineering from the Moscow Aviation Institute.
Aleksandr Gorbunov | |
|---|---|
Александр Горбунов | |
.jpg) Gorbunov in 2023 | |
| Born | Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorbunov 24 May 1990 |
| Status | Active |
| Alma mater | Moscow Aviation Institute |
| Space career | |
| Roscosmos cosmonaut | |
Current occupation | Test cosmonaut |
Previous occupation | Design engineer for Energia |
| Rank | Lieutenant, Russian Air Force (reserve) |
Time in space | 75 days, 1 hour, 54 minutes (currently in space) |
| Selection | 17th Cosmonaut Group (2018) |
| Missions | SpaceX Crew-9 (Expedition 72) |
Mission insignia |   |
Gorbunov serves as a lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Before becoming a cosmonaut, he worked as a design engineer at the Energia corporation, contributing to the development and operations of the Progress MS cargo spacecraft.
In 2018, he was selected to join the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps. Gorbunov is currently on his first space mission, having launched aboard SpaceX Crew-9 in September 2024. He is serving as a flight engineer on the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72.
Early years, studies and professional activities
editGorbunov was born on 24 May 1990 in the city of Zheleznogorsk in the Kursk region of Russia, which at the time was still part of the Soviet Union. Gorbunov said that when he was a young child, he loved the natural world and wanted to be a biologist. He first became interested in aviation when he discovered model planes, and by high school had decided to pursue a future as an aerospace engineer.[2] In 2008, he graduated from Zheleznogorsk secondary school No. 6.
In 2009, he enrolled at the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) where until 2012 he studied the "operation and repair of aircraft, helicopters and aircraft engines." In 2014, Gorbunov graduated with honors from the institute with an engineering degree with a specialty qualification in "Spacecraft and Upper Stages."
In October 2012, Gorbunov began working as a technician at Energia, a Russian spacecraft manufacturer. On 31 March 2014 he was promoted to an engineer at Energia.[3][4] It was during his time, as he was designing spacecraft, that he realized that he also wanted the chance to use them, and after meeting with a few cosmonauts he decided to try and join the cosmonaut corps.[5]
Training
editIn 2015, Gorbunov successfully passed medical examinations at the Institute of Biomedical Problems. He subsequently applied to join the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps in June 2017 and received medical clearance in November of the same year. On 10 August 2018, he was recommended for enrollment as a cosmonaut candidate.[3][6]
On 1 October 2018, Gorbunov began his general training, and over the next two years, he faced a series of demanding challenges. In February 2019, his cosmonaut candidate class completed winter survival training. In August 2019, the candidates underwent diving training at the Noginsk Rescue Center of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. Gorbunov passed the exam on 30 August 2019 and became a certified diver. His class next traveled to the Port of Sochi on the Black Sea for water survival training in October 2019. Throughout the training, Gorbunov honed his flight skills on the Aero L-39 Albatros aircraft, did parachute jumps and trained in zero gravity conditions reproduced onboard the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft.[4][3][1]
This training culminated on 24 November 2020, when Gorbunov successfully passed the state exam. On 2 December 2020, by decision of the Interdepartmental Qualification Commission, following a meeting at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, he was awarded the rank of test cosmonaut.[3]
On 20 January 2022, the Interdepartmental Commission for the Selection of Cosmonauts approved Gorbunov as part of the main crew of Expedition 72.[3][7]
In May 2023, information appeared on the website of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center that Gorbunov was being trained as a backup cosmonaut for Alexander Grebenkin, a member of the main crew of the American manned spacecraft Crew Dragon's SpaceX Crew-8 mission, which is scheduled to be launched to the ISS in early February 2024. Gorbunov was also trained as a flight engineer for the main crew of the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft and Expedition 72. Later, he was selected for SpaceX Crew-9 mission in January 2024 under the Dragon-Soyuz cross-crew flight system to allow the station to be continuously manned, in case, either of the two crewed vehicles runs into issues.[7][3][1]
Flights
editSpaceX Crew-9/Expedition 72
edit.jpg)
As of 2024[update], Gorbunov is currently making his first flight to space as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 crew to serve as a flight engineer on Expedition 72, where he is expected to stay about five months.[3][7]
The Crew-9 mission was delayed by more than a month due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner Calypso spacecraft that was docked at the ISS for the Boeing Crew Flight Test. NASA ultimately decided to send the Starliner back to Earth uncrewed, launch Crew-9 with two crew members, and return with four crew members, including the two crew members of the Boeing Crew Flight Test.[8]
Gorbunov was required to fly as part of the NASA-Roscosmos crew interchange agreement.[9] NASA astronaut Nick Hague, a spaceflight veteran and one of the few individuals to have survived a launch abort aboard Soyuz MS-10 was selected as the commander of the mission.[10]
Following the crew changes, SpaceX, NASA, Hague, and Gorbunov collaborated for three weeks to identify how Hague could assume many of the tasks typically divided between the commander and pilot, and determine which tasks could be assigned to Gorbunov, who would sit in the pilot's seat during launch. While Gorbunov is a qualified engineer and holds the rank of test cosmonaut (making him eligible to be a Soyuz commander), he had only previously received basic training on the Dragon in his role as a mission specialist.[11] Although only serving in a limited capacity, Gorbunov was be the first Russian cosmonaut to be at the controls of an American spacecraft.
Personal life
editGorbunov says his biggest hobby and interest is paragliding and said that his love of the activity may have inspired his desire to go to space as a way even higher into the skies. He also said that he enjoys hiking and had taken up scuba diving before being required to learn it in cosmonaut training.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Космонавт из Железногорска". ferumnews.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ a b NASA (28 September 2024). NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 Launch. Event occurs at 55:40. Retrieved 29 September 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Горбунов Александр Владимирович". astronaut.ru. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Центр подготовки космонавтов им. Ю.А.Гагарина. Официальный Web-сайт". www.gctc.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Dane Turner (20 September 2024). "Crew-9". Houston, We Have a Podcast (Podcast). NASA. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "Roscosmos. Results of the International Exhibition Committee for selection into the Cosmonaut Corps". Roscosmos.
- ^ a b c "Центр подготовки космонавтов им. Ю.А.Гагарина. Официальный Web-сайт". www.gctc.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Taveau, Jessica (24 August 2024). "NASA Decides to Bring Starliner Spacecraft Back to Earth Without Crew". NASA. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Donaldson, Abbey A. (30 August 2024). "NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 Changes Ahead of September Launch". NASA. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Berger, Eric (23 August 2024). "Cards on the table: Are Butch and Suni coming home on Starliner or Crew Dragon?". Ars Technica. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ Dane Turner (20 September 2024). "Crew-9". Houston, We Have a Podcast (Podcast). NASA. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
So now we have to do the pilot and the commander role as a single person, you know, so there's not going to be a pilot there. Now we have had three weeks of training and it's been awesome to watch the full team come together, to watch the SpaceX team, to watch the NASA team surge and just roll your sleeves up and figure out, okay, how do we need to change things? And it's, you know, we've had previously flown Dragon crew members in the astronaut office that have helped support us. Zena and Stephanie have been integral to this effort and have pointed out and helped us come up with some great ways to understand what we can and can't do given the training that Alex has cause he's there, he's been through this training for two years. And so, there are things that he is extremely capable of doing that I would do as a pilot. And so we want to leverage those. But there's also a lot of things that he hasn't been trained on. And so we identify where those limitations are and then, and then I figure out what I need to do in order to cover down on all of that.
