Fyodor Yurchikhin

• STS- 112 (2002)
• Soyuz TMA -10 ( 2007)   ISS Expedition 15

• ISS Expedition 24
• ISS Expedition 25

• ISS Expedition 36
• ISS Expedition 37

Fyodor Nikolayevich Yurchikhin (Russian Фёдор Николаевич Юрчихин; born January 3, 1959 in Batumi, Georgian SSR ) is a Russian cosmonaut.

Training

After graduating from high school in Batumi 1976 Yurchikhin began studying at the Moscow Aviation Institute. He finished his studies in 1983 with a degree in mechanical engineering specializing in spacecraft. He received his doctorate in economics at the Moscow State University of Management, 2001.

From 1983 to 1997 he was a member of the Russian space company RKK Energia. He worked in the control center, first as an engineer, then as a senior, finally as a senior engineer. Finally, he became chief engineer for the Mir Space Shuttle and NASA -Mir programs.

Cosmonauts activity

In August 1997 Yurchikhin was enrolled as a candidate in the Department of RKK Energia cosmonaut. From January 1998 to November 1999, he completed a basic training course and passed an examination as a test cosmonaut. As of January 2000, he began training in the test cosmonaut group for the International Space Station program.

In October 2002 Yurchikhin flew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis during the mission STS -112 in outer space. After completing his first space flight, he had spent 10 days, 19 hours and 58 minutes in space.

On 7 May 2006 he was selected for the team of Soyuz TMA -10. As Soyuz Flight Engineer he launched on April 7, 2007 to the ISS. There he worked as station commander total of 196 days. The landing on 21 October 2007 in the Kazakh steppe did not go smoothly, as probably due to a computer error, the landing point a few hundred kilometers to the west than was anticipated.

In October 2009, the ISS crews of Expeditions 23 were rescheduled to 27, which was re-nominated as Yurchikhin ISS Flight Engineer of Expeditions 24 and 25. He was commander of the spaceship Soyuz TMA- 19, and lived and worked from June to November 2010 aboard the ISS. The launch took place on 15 June 2010, landing on November 26, 2010.

As of May 29, 2013 Yurchikhin spent his fourth stay in space. He was commander of the spaceship Soyuz TMA- 09M and remained six months aboard the ISS. On 10 September 2013, took over as part of the ISS Expedition 37 command of the ISS, returning to Earth on 11 November 2013.

Private

Fyodor Yurchikhin comes from a Greek family whose ancestors came from Batumi in Georgia today. He is the eldest son of Nikolai Fyodorovich Yurchikhin and Mikroula Sofoklewna Jurtschichina (born Grammatikopoulou ), both Pontic Greeks. Yurchikhin is married and has two daughters.