Yuri Onufrienko

Infobox Astronaut
name =Yuri Ivanovich Onufriyenko

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|right|thumb|Col. Yuri Onufriyenko]
type =Cosmonaut
nationality =Ukrainian / Russian
date_birth =February 6, 1961
place_birth =Ryasne, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine
occupation =Pilot
rank =Colonel
selection =1989 Cosmonaut Group
time =389d 14h 46m
mission =Soyuz TM-23, STS-108, Expedition 4
insignia = |Col. Yuri Ivanovich Onufriyenko ( _ru. Юрий Иванович Онуфриенко) (born 6 February 1961) is a Soviet/Russian cosmonaut of Ukrainian descent. He is a veteran of two extended spaceflights, aboard the space station Mir in 1996 and aboard the International Space Station in 2001-2002.

Born in Ryasne, Zolochiv Raion of Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR. Graduated from the V.M. Komarov Eisk Higher Military Aviation School for Pilots in 1982 with a pilot-engineer's diploma and served as a pilot in the Soviet (later Russian) Air Force, where he logged over 800 flight hours. He was selected as a cosmonaut candidate in 1989; he has over 800 flight hours and has flown the L-29, Su-7, Su-17 (M1-4), and L-39. In 1994, Onufriyenko earned a degree in cartography from Moscow State University.

From September 1989 to January 1991, Onufriyenko underwent a course of general space training. Starting April 1991, he underwent training as a member of test cosmonauts group. Starting March 1994, he entered flight training to be the commander of the stand-by crew of the Mir-18 expedition aboard the Soyuz-TM-21 transport vehicle and the Mir Station as part of the Mir-Shuttle program.

From February 21 to September 2, 1996, he served as Commander on Mir-21. One month later, he and Yuri Usachev were joined by NASA's Shannon Lucid. During Mir-21 he performed numerous research experiments, and participated in six EVAs. He and Yuri Usachev were joined by French cosmonaut Claudie André-Deshays after the departure of Shannon Lucid. Altogether, he logged 193 days in space.

Onufrienko again served as Commander on ISS Expedition 4. The mission launched on December 5, 2001 aboard STS-108 and docked with the International Space Station on December 7, 2001. During a 6-1/2 month stay aboard the Space Station, the crew performed flight tests of the station hardware, conducted internal and external maintenance tasks, and developed the capability of the station to support the addition of science experiments. Wearing the Russian Orlan spacesuit, Onufrienko logged 12 hours and 02 minutes of EVA time in two separate spacewalks. The Expedition 4 crew returned to Earth aboard STS-111, with Endeavour landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 19, 2002. In completing this mission, Onufrienko logged an additional 196 days in space, for a total of 389 days of spaceflight.

Onufriyenko and his wife, Valentina Mikhailovna Onufrienko, have two sons and one daughter. He has two older brothers and his parents are deceased. Yuri enjoys tennis, cooking, fishing, chess, and aviation. He has been named a Hero of Russia, been awarded two Armed Forces medals and named a Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor.

External links

* [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/onufriyenko.html Official NASA Biography]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/cosmonauts/english/onufriyenko_yuri.htm Spacefacts biography of Yuri Onufrienko]