Skip the biography headerBiographical Data

 [NASA Logo]
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Houston, Texas 77058
VOLKOV, SERGEY ALEXANDROVICH
(LIEUTENANT COLONEL, RUSSIAN FEDERATION AIR FORCE)
TEST COSMONAUT, GAGARIN COSMONAUT TRAINING CENTER, RUSSIA

PERSONAL DATA: Born April 1, 1973 in Chuguyev, Kharkov Region, Ukraine. He and his wife Natalia have a son who was born in 2001. Recreational activities include tennis, windsurfing, reading, and visiting museums.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Star City high school in 1990 and entered the Tambov Air Force Academy for Pilots. Graduated in 1995 with a degree of pilot/engineer.

AWARDS: Russian Federation Armed Forces medals.

EXPERIENCE: After graduating from the academy, Volkov served in the air force as an assistant aircraft commander. He has mastered the L-29, L-39, Il-22 (Iliushin), and Ty-134 (Tupolev) aircraft, and has accumulated 450 flight hours. He is a Class 3 military pilot.

From December 1997 to November 1999, Volkov underwent general cosmonaut training. In November 1999, he was qualified as a test cosmonaut. Since January 2000, he has been part of a group of test cosmonauts training for missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

From August 2001 to February 2003, Volkov trained as part of the ISS-7 backup crew as a Soyuz TMA Commander and ISS Flight Engineer. From March 2003 to December 2004, he trained as part of the ISS-11 primary crew for launch on the Orbiter. From January 2005 to February 2006, he trained as part of a group of test cosmonauts for missions to the ISS. In February 2006, he was appointed as a member of the ISS-13 backup crew and Visiting Crew 10 as a Soyuz TMA Flight Engineer 2 and an ISS Visiting Crew Flight Engineer.

In June 2006, he was appointed a member of the ISS-17 prime crew as Soyuz TMA Commander and ISS Commander.

MAY 2007