Yelena Kondakova

Who is Yelena Kondakova?

Yelena Vladimirovna Kondakova was the third Soviet/Russian female cosmonaut to travel to space and the first woman to make a long-duration spaceflight. Her first trip into space was on Soyuz TM-20 on October 4, 1994. She returned to Earth on March 22, 1995 after a five-month stay at the Mir space station. Kondakova's second flight was as a mission specialist on the United States Space Shuttle Atlantis during mission STS-84 in May 1997. Since then no other Russian woman has flown to space.

Kondakova was born in Mytishchi in the Moscow Region of Russia and is married to fellow cosmonaut Valeri Ryumin. She was selected as a cosmonaut candidate in 1989.

Since 1999, Kondakova has served as a deputy in the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.