Igor Volk

Infobox Astronaut


name =Igor Petrovich Volk
type =Cosmonaut
nationality =Soviet
date_birth =April 12, 1937
place_birth =Zmiiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR
occupation =Pilot
rank =Colonel, Russian Air Force
selection =Air Force Group 5
time =11d 19h 14min
mission =Soyuz T-12
insignia =|

Igor Petrovich Volk (Russian: Игорь Петрович Волк; born April 12, 1937 in Zmiiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR) was a cosmonaut and test pilot in the Soviet Union. He is married and has two children.

Igor Volk was selected as a cosmonaut on July 30, 1980, flew as Research Cosmonaut on Soyuz T-12, the 7th expedition to Salyut 7. One goal of the mission was to test the effects of long-duration spaceflight on Volk's return flight piloting as a precursor to piloting the Space Shuttle Buran. He served as the head of the cosmonauts training for the Buran program and since the project's cancellation, as a Flight Tests Deputy at the Gromov Flight Research Institute in 1995 before retiring in 1996. He has previously served as President of the National Aero Club of Russia and Vice President of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. As recognition for his contributions as a test pilot and cosmonaut he was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union on July 29, 1984.

He is also an inventor and is planning a new four-person concept flying car called the Lark-4 which takes off and lands at 45 km/h (28 mph) using a 27-meter (89 feet) runway. It consumes 11 litres (3 gallons) of fuel for every 100 km (62 miles) traveled and cruises at around 637 km/h (396 mph).

External links and references

[http://rusaeromobile.narod.ru/information.html Lark-4 Information]