Aleksandr Serebrov

Who was Aleksandr Serebrov?

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Serebrov was a Soviet cosmonaut. He graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and was selected as a cosmonaut on December 1, 1978. He retired on May 10, 1995. He was married and had one child.

He flew on Soyuz T-7, Soyuz T-8, Soyuz TM-8 and Soyuz TM-17.He was one of very few cosmonauts to fly for both the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that followed it. He held the record for most spacewalks, 10, until Anatoly Solovyev surpassed it. In all, Serebrov spent 371.95 days in space. Serebrov contributed to the design of Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and the Mir space stations. He helped design, and, according to a New York Times obituary, "was the first to test a one-person vehicle - popularly called a space motorcycle - to rescue space crews in distress and repair satellites."

Serebrov died in Moscow on November 12, 2013.

He was awarded:

Title of Hero of the Soviet Union

Title of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR

Order of Friendship

Two Orders of Lenin

Order of the October Revolution

Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration"