Aleksandr Lazutkin

Aleksandr Ivanovich Lazutkin
Born	(1957-10-30) 30 October 1957 (age 67) Moscow, Soviet Union
Status	Retired
Nationality	Russian
Occupation	Flight engineer
Space career
Roscosmos cosmonaut
Time in space	184d 22h 07m
Selection	1992
Missions	Soyuz TM-25
Mission insignia

Aleksandr Ivanovich Lazutkin (Russian: Александр Иванович Лазуткин; born October 30, 1957)[1] is a former Russian cosmonaut.

Life and career

Lazutkin attended the Moscow Aviation Institute and received a degree in mechanical engineering.[1] He was selected as a cosmonaut on March 3, 1992. His first spaceflight was Soyuz TM-25, where he served as the flight engineer.

Lazutkin has stated that Russian cosmonauts were given cognac for extended missions in space.[2]

1997 Progress supply mission

Lazutkin was aboard the Mir Space Station when a collision occurred with the uncrewed Progress M34, its supply craft, which was piloted by Vasily Tsibliyev while on the Mir.[3][4] The collision, considered the worst in the history of the space age,[4] knocked out Spektr's solar panels and caused the Mir to lose alignment with the sun, resulting in a loss of power.[4] It also caused the cabin to decompress.[5]

Quick action by the three crew members managed to avert immediate disaster.[4] Lazutkin and fellow crew member Michael Foale quickly severed the connecting cables with the module and sealed off the hatches to the module, saving the rest of the station.[6] Lazutkin successfully cut some of the wires connecting the Mir and the Spektr using a small dinner knife.[3] A few days after the collision, Tsibliyev and Lazutkin were ordered to attempt to repair the Mir, while Foale was ordered to the Soyuz-TM escape pod.[3] The station was eventually secured safely.[4]

See also

• List of Heroes of the Russian Federation

References

1. "Aleksandr Ivanovich Lazutkin". European Space Agency. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
2. "Why Astronauts Were Banned From Drinking Wine In Outer Space". Gizmodo. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
3. Hollingham, Richard. "The five greatest space hacks of all time". BBC. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
4. Burrows, William E. (2010-09-29). This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307765482.
5. Kamler, Kenneth (2004-01-20). Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance. Macmillan. ISBN 9781429976114.
6. Hall, Rex; Shayler, David (2003-05-07). Soyuz: A Universal Spacecraft. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781852336578.