Kalpana Chawla

PERSONAL DATA: Born in Karnal, India. Died on February 1, 2003 over the southern United States when Space Shuttle Columbia and the crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. She is survived by her husband. Kalpana Chawla ...

Steven Lindsey

Steven Wayne Lindsey is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. Lindsey served as Chief of the NASA Astronaut Office from September 2006 until October 2009.

Michael Bloomfield

PERSONAL DATA: Born March 16, 1959, in Flint, Michigan. Considers Lake Fenton, Michigan, to be his hometown. Married to the former Lori Miller. They have two children. He enjoys reading, gardening, all sporting activities including running, ...

Bjarni Tryggvason

Personal profile: Born September 21, 1945, in Reykjavik, Iceland, Bjarni Tryggvason has two children. He is an Airline Transport rated pilot with more than 4,500 hours of flight experience, and 1,800 hours as a flight instructor. Mr. Tryggvason ...

Stephen Robinson

PERSONAL DATA: Born October 26, 1955, in Sacramento, California. Enjoys flying, antique aircraft, kayaking, hiking, drawing, painting and stereo photography. Plays lead guitar in Max Q, the all-astronaut rock-n-roll band; also plays stand-up ...

Robert Curbeam Jr

PERSONAL DATA: Born March 5, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland. Two children. He enjoys weightlifting, backpacking and sports. EDUCATION: Graduated from Woodlawn High School, Baltimore County, Maryland, 1980. Bachelor of science degree in aerospace ...

Pavel Vinogradov

Pavel Vladimirovich Vinogradov (Russian: Павел Владимирович Виноградов; born August 31, 1953 in Magadan, USSR) is a cosmonaut and former commander of the International Space Station. As of May 2013, he has flown into space three times, aboard Mir ...

Edward Lu

PERSONAL DATA: Born July 1, 1963, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Considers Honolulu, Hawaii, and Webster, New York, to be his hometowns. Married. One child. He enjoys aerobatic flying, coaching wrestling, piano, tennis, surfing, skiing, and ...

Carlos Noriega

PERSONAL DATA: Born October 8, 1959, in Lima, Peru. Considers Santa Clara, California, to be his hometown. Married to the former Wendy L. Thatcher. They have five children. He enjoys flying, running, snow skiing, racquetball and spending time ...

Gregory Linteris

PERSONAL DATA: Born October 4, 1957, in Demarest, New Jersey, where his parents, Lino Luigi Linteris and Helen Mary Linteris reside. Single. Recreational interests include running, skiing, board sailing, hiking, backpacking, and reading, and was ...

Roger Crouch

PERSONAL DATA: Born September 12, 1940, in Jamestown, Tennessee. Currently resides in Washington, DC with his wife the former Anne Novotny. He has three grown children, Melanie, Kevin and Kenyon. His mother, Maxine Crouch, resides in Jamestown, ...

Susan Still-Kilrain

PERSONAL DATA: Born October, 24, 1961, in Augusta, Georgia. Married to Colin James Kilrain of Braintree, Massachusetts. She enjoys triathlons, martial arts, and playing the piano. Her parents, Joe and Sue Still, reside in Martinez, Georgia. ...

Reinhold Ewald

Dr. Reinhold Ewald (born December 18, 1956) is a German physicist and ESA astronaut. In 1990, he was selected to the German astronaut team, training for the Mir '92 mission. He was the backup of Klaus-Dietrich Flade for the Soyuz TM-14 ...

Aleksandr Lazutkin

He was selected as cosmonaut on March 3, 1992. His first spaceflight was Soyuz TM-25, on which he was the flight engineer. He is married and has two children. Lazutkin was aboard the Mir Space Station when the collision with the resupply ...

Claudie Haigneré

Claudie André-Deshays Haigneré (born 13 May 1957) is a French former astronaut with the Centre National d'Études Spatiales and the European Space Agency. She was the first French woman to go the space and the first European woman to visit ...

Valery Korzun

PERSONAL DATA: Born March 5, 1953, in Krasny Sulin. Korzun and his wife Elana have one son, Nikita. His father is Korzun Grigori Andreevich, and his mother, Korzun Maria Arsentievna. EDUCATION: 1974 graduate of the Kachin Military Aviation ...

Robert Thirsk

Birthplace and date: Born August 17, 1953, New Westminster, British Columbia. Education: Bob attended primary and secondary schools in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering ...

Jean-Jacques Favier

PERSONAL DATA: Born April 13, 1949, in Kehl, Germany. Married to the former Michele Jean. Four children. He enjoys downhill skiing, tennis, wind-surfing, and archeology. EDUCATION: Attended primary and secondary schools in Strasbourg, France. ...

Charles Brady,Jr

PERSONAL DATA: Born August 12, 1951, in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Brady passed away July 23, 2006 at his home in Washington State. EDUCATION: Graduated from North Moore High School, Robbins, North Carolina, in 1969; was pre-med at University ...

Richard Linnehan

PERSONAL DATA: Born September 19, 1957, in Lowell, Massachusetts. Raised by his paternal grandparents, Henry and Mae Linnehan. He enjoys various sports, outdoor activities and natural history. His sister, Colleen, resides in Nevada. EDUCATION: ...

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.