Mikhail Tyurin
PERSONAL DATA: Michael Tyurin lives in Korolev, a small city outside of Moscow. He was born March 2, 1960, in Kolomna, Russia (about 60 miles from Moscow) where his parents still reside. He is married to Tatiana Anatoleyvna Tyurin. They have ...
Patrick Forrester
Bachelor of science in applied sciences and engineering from U.S. Military Academy, 1979; master of science in mechanical and aerospace engineering from University of Virginia, 1989; Colonel, USA; Ret.; unsuccessful application for NASA astronaut ...
Charles Hobaugh
PERSONAL DATA: Born November 6, 1961, in Bar Harbor, Maine. Married to the former Corinna Lynn Leaman of East Petersburg, Pennsylvania. They have four children. He enjoys weightlifting, volleyball, boating, water skiing, snow skiing, soccer, ...
Dennis Tito
Bachelor of Science in Astronautics and Aeronautics from New York University, 1962; master of science in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1964; one honorary doctorate; former scientist at the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; in ...
Yuri Lonchakov
PERSONAL DATA: Born March 4, 1965, in Balkhash, Dzhezkazkansk Region. His parents, Lonchakov Valentin Gavrilovich and Galina Vasilyevna, reside in Aktyubinsk, Kazakhstan. He is married to Lonchakova (Dolmatova) Tatyana Alexeevna. They have one ...
John Phillips
PERSONAL DATA: Born April 15, 1951, in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Married to the former Laura Jean Doell; they have one son and one daughter. Enjoys skiing, swimming, kayaking and hiking. Phillips retired from NASA in 2011 and now lives in ...
Paul Richards
PERSONAL DATA: Born May 20, 1964, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His hometown is Dunmore, Pennsylvania. He has two children. He is married to the former Jean Christianson of Mishawaka, IN and Chicago, IL. Paul's parents are Angela Cordaro Richards ...
James Kelly
PERSONAL DATA: Born in Burlington, Iowa. EDUCATION: Graduated from Burlington Community High School, Burlington, Iowa, in 1982; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Astronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1986; a ...
Mark Polansky
PERSONAL DATA: Born June 2, 1956 in Paterson, New Jersey. Considers Edison, New Jersey, his hometown. Enjoys ice hockey, snow skiing, light aircraft flying, music, and the arts. Married to the former Lisa Ristow of San Antonio, Texas. They have a ...
Pamela Melroy
Pamela Anne Melroy is a retired United States Air Force officer and a former NASA astronaut. She served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions STS-92 and STS-112 and commanded mission STS-120 before leaving the agency in August 2009. After serving as ...
Boris Morukov
PERSONAL DATA: Born October 1, 1950, in Moscow, Russia. Married to Nina M. Morukova. They have two children: daughter Olga and son Ivan. Dr. Morukovs mother, Lidia F. Khromova, resides in Moscow. His father, Vladimir D. Morukov, is deceased. He ...
Richard Mastracchio
PERSONAL DATA: Born February 11, 1960, in Waterbury, Connecticut. EDUCATION: Graduated from Crosby High School, Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1978; received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science from the ...
Daniel Burbank
PERSONAL DATA: Born July 27, 1961, in Manchester, Connecticut, but considers Yarmouthport, Massachusetts, to be his home. Married, with two children. Enjoys running, skiing, hiking, sailing, amateur astronomy and playing guitar. His parents, ...
Jeffrey Williams
Bachelor of science in applied sciences and engineering from U.S. Military Academy, West Point, 1980; master of science in aeronautical engineering and degree of aeronautical engineer from U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, both 1987; master of arts ...
Sergei Zalyotin
PERSONAL DATA: Born April 21, 1962, in the town of Tula. Resides at Star City, Moscow region. His wife, Elena Zalyotina, was born Jun 21, 1962. They have a son, Sergey. His mother, Valentina Zalyotina, lives in Tula. His father, Viktor Zalyotin, ...
Gerhard Thiele
Dr. Gerhard Paul Julius Thiele (born September 2, 1953) is a German physicist and a former ESA astronaut. In 1996, he was selected by the German Space Agency to receive Space Shuttle Mission Specialist training at NASA. In August 1998, he joined ...
Scott Kelly
A veteran of three previous missions, Kelly was selected in November 2012 for a special year-long mission to the International Space Station, which began in March 2015. Kelly commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on Expedition 26. ...
Jeffrey Ashby
PERSONAL DATA: Raised in the Rocky Mountains where he developed a love for skiing, soaring, backpacking and fly-fishing. Jeff and his wife, Paige, share their home with two spoiled dogs. EDUCATION: Graduated from Evergreen High School, ...
Valeri Tokarev
PERSONAL DATA: Born October 29, 1952 in the town of Kap-Yar, Astrakhan Region Resides at Star City, Moscow Region. He is married to Irina Nikolaevna Tokareva, (Gavrilova). They have two children: a daughter, Olya, and a son, Ivan. His mother, ...
Julie Payette
PERSONAL DATA: Born October 20, 1963, in Montréal, Quebec, Ms. Payette enjoys running, skiing, racquet sports and scuba diving. She has a commercial pilot license with float rating. Ms. Payette is fluent in French and English and can converse in ...
What is the difference between a cosmonaut and an astronaut?
Cosmonaut and astronaut are synonyms, that is, theoretically we can use them interchangeably, but traditionally we call people launched into space by the Americans astronauts and by the Russians cosmonauts, regardless of what nationalities they were. That is, Americans, Canadians, Japanese, Italians, French and Germans flying with Americans are astronauts. In contrast, General Hermaszewski, the only (so far) Pole in Space, is called a cosmonaut because he flew as part of the Soviet space program.
