Guy Laliberté

Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist, poker player, space tourist, co-founder and the current CEO of Cirque du Soleil. With an estimated net worth of US$2.6 billion (as of March 2012), Laliberté was ranked by Forbes as the 11th wealthiest ...

Nicole Stott

Nicole Marie Passonno Stott is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. She served as a Flight Engineer on ISS Expedition 20 and Expedition 21 and was a Mission Specialist on STS-128 and STS-133. After 27 years of working at NASA, the space ...

Jose Hernandez

PERSONAL DATA: Born August 7, 1962 in French Camp, California. Considers Stockton, California, to be his hometown. EDUCATION: B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of the Pacific, 1984. M.S., Electrical & Computer Engineering, ...

Kevin Ford

PERSONAL DATA: Born July 7, 1960 in Portland, Indiana. Montpelier, Indiana, is his hometown. EDUCATION: Graduated from Blackford High School, Hartford City, Indiana, in 1978. He received his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from ...

Timothy Kopra

PERSONAL DATA: Born on April 9, 1963, in Austin, Texas. Married to the former Dawn Lehman of Lewisburg, Kentucky. They have two children. He enjoys running, swimming, reading, home improvement projects, and spending time with family and friends. ...

Thomas Marshburn

PERSONAL DATA: Born August 29, 1960, in Statesville, North Carolina. Married to the former Ann M. Sanders. They have one daughter. Tom has private, instrument, aerobatic, and commercial pilot licenses. He enjoys backpacking and mountain ...

Christopher Cassidy

Lieutenant Commander, USN; Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy, 1993; Master of Science in Ocean Engineering from MIT, 2000; at the time of selection Commander, Naval Special Warfare Task Unit, Afghanistan, Senior SEAL ...

Douglas Hurley

B.S.E. in Civil Engineering, Tulane University, 1988; Lieutenant Colonel, USMC; F/A-18 Project Officer NAS Patuxent River, Maryland; hobbies: hunting, mountain climbing, backcountry camping and NASCAR racing.

Roman Romanenko

Soyuz TMA-M commander ISS flight engineer 3rd class test-cosmonaut Deputy Chief of the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Office Colonel of the Russian Air Force, retired 495th cosmonaut of the world 103rd cosmonaut of the Russian Federation PERSONAL ...

Andrew Feustel

PERSONAL DATA: Raised and educated in Lake Orion, Michigan. Married to the former Indira Devi Bhatnagar of Ontario. Drew enjoys auto restoration, guitar, water and snow skiing and Kart racing with their two boys. His parents both live in ...

Katherine McArthur

PERSONAL DATA: Born in 1971 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Considers California to be her home state. Married with one child, parents Don & Kit McArthur, reside in San Jose, California. Enjoys activities such as SCUBA diving, backpacking, and cooking. ...

Michael Good

PERSONAL DATA: Born in Parma, Ohio, but considers Broadview Heights, Ohio, his hometown. Married to the former Joan Dickinson. They have three children: Bryan, Jason and Shannon and two grandsons: Gavin and Braxton. EDUCATION: Graduated from ...

Gregory Johnson

PERSONAL DATA: Born in Seattle, Washington. Married to Nanette Faget. Greg has two grown sons, Scott and Kent. Nanette has three children. Recreational interests include, cycling and swimming. His father, Raleigh O. Johnson and his wife, Patsy, ...

Michael Barratt

PERSONAL DATA: Born on April 16, 1959 in Vancouver, Washington. Considers Camas, Washington, to be his home town. Married to the former Michelle Lynne Sasynuik. They have five children. His mother, Donna Barratt, resides in Camas, Washington. ...

Richard Arnold II

PERSONAL DATA: Born in Cheverly and raised in Bowie, Maryland. Married to Eloise Miller Arnold of Bowie, Maryland. They have two daughters. Enjoys running, fishing, reading, kayaking, bicycling, ornithology, paleontology and guitar. EDUCATION: ...

Joseph Acaba

PERSONAL DATA: Born in 1967 in Inglewood, California, and raised in Anaheim, California, where his parents, Ralph and Elsie, still reside. Enjoys outdoor activities, such as camping, hiking, biking, kayaking and scuba diving. EDUCATION: ...

Dominic Antonelli

PERSONAL DATA: Born in Detroit, Michigan. Raised in Indiana and North Carolina.Married with two children. Interests include nowboarding and NASCAR. EDUCATION: Graduated from Douglas Byrd High School, Fayetteville, North Carolina; Bachelor ...

Robert Kimbrough

Lieutenant Colonel, USA; Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy, 1989; Master of Science in Operations Research from the Georgia Tech, 1998; at the time of selection Flight Simulation Engineer on the Shuttle ...

Stephen Bowen

Bachelor of science in Electrical Engineering, US Naval Academy, 1986; Degree of Ocean Engineer, MIT, 1993; Captain, USN; Executive Officer, USS Virginia, Groton, Connecticut. He is the first Submarine Officer selected by NASA.

Czym się różni kosmonauta od astronauty?

Kosmonauta i astronauta to synonimy, czyli teoretycznie możemy używać ich wymiennie, ale tradycyjnie nazywamy ludzi wyniesionych w kosmos przez amerykanów astronautami, a przez rosjan kosmonautami, niezależnie jakich narodowości byli. Czyli Amerykanie, Kanadyjczycy, Japończycy, Włosi, Francuzi i Niemcy latający z amerykanami to astronauci. Natomiast generała Hermaszewskiego, jedynego (jak dotąd) Polaka w Kosmosie, nazywa się kosmonautą bo poleciał w ramach radzieckiego programu kosmicznego.

Tajkonauta (taikonauta)

A co z chińczykami? Na zachodzie chińczyków w kosmosie nazywają taikonautami. Co ciekawe słowo tajkonuta, z chińskiego "taikong" (czyli przestrzeń kosmiczna) wymyślił najprawdopodobniej dla żartu pod koniec lat 90. malezyjski fan lotów kosmicznych i posłużył się nim w tekście internetowym, co podchwyciły zachodnie media. Sami Chińczycy mówią o swoim astronaucie – yuhangyuan.