Talgat Musabayev facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Talgat Musabayev
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| Талғат Мұсабаев | |
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Musabayev in 2022
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| Member of the Senate | |
| In office 13 July 2017 – 24 January 2023 |
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| Appointed by | Nursultan Nazarbayev |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 January 1951 Kargaly, Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan) |
| Political party | Amanat (2007–present) |
| Occupation | Test pilot |
| Awards |   |
| Status | Retired |
| Space career | |
| Roscosmos cosmonaut | |
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Current occupation
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Director of Aerospace Agency of Republic of Kazakhstan |
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Time in space
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341d 9h 48m |
| Selection | 11 May 1990 |
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Total EVAs
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7 |
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Total EVA time
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41 hours, 13 minutes |
| Missions | Mir EO-16 (Soyuz TM-19), Mir EO-25 (Soyuz TM-27), ISS EP-1 (Soyuz TM-32 / Soyuz TM-31) |
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Mission insignia
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Talgat Amangeldyuly Musabayev (Kazakh: Талғат Аманкелдіұлы Мұсабаев; born 7 January 1951) is a famous Kazakh politician, test pilot, and former astronaut, also known as a cosmonaut. He flew into space three times! His first two trips were long stays on the Russian space station called Mir. His third trip was a shorter visit to the International Space Station (ISS). On this trip, he even flew with the very first space tourist, Dennis Tito. After many amazing space adventures, he retired as a cosmonaut in 2003. Since 2007, he has been in charge of KazCosmos, which is Kazakhstan's space agency.
Contents
Early Life and Training
Talgat Musabayev was born on January 7, 1951. He studied engineering at the Riga Civil Aviation Engineers Institute and graduated in 1974. Later, in 1983, he earned another engineering diploma from the Higher Military Aviation School.
He was a very skilled pilot and received several awards for his amazing aerobatic flying. Because of his talent, he was chosen to become a cosmonaut on May 11, 1990. In 1991, he became a Major and joined the Air Force cosmonaut group.
Space Missions and Adventures
Talgat Musabayev is known for his three incredible journeys into space. He spent a total of 341 days, 9 hours, and 48 minutes in space!
First Spaceflight: Mir EO-16
His first trip to space was on July 1, 1994. He was a flight engineer on a long mission called Mir EO-16. He lived and worked on the Mir space station. This mission lasted for 125 days, which is more than four months! He returned to Earth on November 4, 1994.
Second Spaceflight: Mir EO-25
Talgat Musabayev went to space again on January 29, 1998. This time, he was the Commander of the Mir EO-25 mission. He spent another long period on the Mir space station. This mission ended on August 25, 1998.
Third Spaceflight: ISS EP-1
His third and final space mission began on April 28, 2001. He was the Commander of the ISS EP-1 mission, which visited the International Space Station (ISS). This trip was shorter, lasting about 8 days. It was a very special mission because it carried the first-ever paying space tourist, Dennis Tito. Talgat Musabayev returned to Earth on May 6, 2001.
By 2007, Talgat Musabayev was among the top 30 cosmonauts in the world for the total time spent in space.
Life After Space
After his amazing career as a cosmonaut, Talgat Musabayev continued to work in important roles. He retired from being a cosmonaut in November 2003.
He became a Major General in September 2003. From 2005 to 2007, he was the General Director of "Bayterek" Corp., a joint company between Kazakhstan and Russia.
On April 11, 2007, Talgat Musabayev was appointed as the Head of the National Space Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, also known as KazCosmos. This means he was in charge of Kazakhstan's space programs.
From July 2017 to January 2023, he also served as a Deputy in the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan.
Family Life
Talgat Musabayev is married and has two children.
Awards and Recognitions
Talgat Musabayev has received many important awards for his bravery and contributions to space exploration:
- Hero of the Russian Federation (1994) – This is a very high honor given for courage during his long spaceflight on Mir.
- People's Hero of Kazakhstan (1995) – Another top award from his home country.
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland (2nd and 3rd class) – Awards from Russia for his courage and selflessness in space.
- Order of Otan (1998) and Order Barys (Leopard) (2002) – Important awards from Kazakhstan.
- Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" (2011) – For helping with international space cooperation.
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (1991) – For helping build friendship between countries through space.
- Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation (1994) and Pilot-Cosmonaut of Kazakhstan (1995) – Special titles for being a cosmonaut.
- Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (1991)
- Officer of the Legion of Honour (France, 2010) – A high French award for his work in space and cooperation with France.
- NASA Space Flight Medal (United States, 1998) – For his important work with the Shuttle-Mir program.
See also
- List of Heroes of the Russian Federation
