Maxim Suraev - Air Force Colonel, the first Russian astronaut to lead his blog from orbit and regularly answer readers' questions.
Cosmonaut Maxim Suraev
Many children of the Soviet Union in their dreams saw themselves as astronauts, wanted to explore the Universe, as Yuri Gagarin did in his time. Dreams are dreams, and not everyone succeeds in bringing this desire through the years and translating it into reality.
The 104th cosmonaut of Russia and the 503rd - of the world. That is how the hero of this article appears before us. The bright slogan, which traced the desire to advance humanity forward, to open new horizons in front of it, was followed by astronaut Maxim Suraev. His biography is replete with numerous awards and merits, and his smile is compared with the smile of Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin.
Below we will get acquainted with this outstanding personality in more detail.
A little about Suraev’s childhood
M.V. Suraev was born in Chelyabinsk on May 24, 1972. The future cosmonaut spent his childhood in the city of Shadrinsk, Kurgan region. Having reached primary school age, in 1979 he was enrolled in secondary school No. 5 of the city of Noginsk, which is located in the Moscow region.
Maxim Viktorovich grew up in a military family and in early childhood began to think about the continuation of the family dynasty. Nevertheless, there was no question of the profession of an astronaut . Looking at his father, a colonel of the Air Force, and in the past a military pilot, Suraev without a shadow of a doubt decided to go on his father's path. Space then seemed to him something supernatural and inaccessible.
Student years
At the end of ten classes, Suraev was enrolled in the first year of the military school. Myasnikov, who he subsequently graduated with a diploma of military special higher education pilot-flight engineer. Later, he was arranged at the Voronezh Air Force Academy. Zhukovsky, who graduated with honors in June 1997. Over the years, he also studied at the Civil Registry Office in the field of “jurisprudence” with the assignment of further qualifications as a lawyer.
The first "space" steps
In early 2007, Maxim Suraev already commanded a group of novice space explorers of the RGNII TsPK. Later, in early August 2009, by order of the head of the Federal State Budgetary Institution and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, he was appointed commander in chief of the space pilots detachment of the Federal State Budgetary Institution CPC.
On this basis, Maxim Suraev was accepted by order of the Ministry of Defense into the detachment of the RGNII TsPK as a possible candidate for test cosmonauts and was then recommended for admission to the above detachment. About a year Suraev carried out the necessary training. Two years later, he was already awarded the title of test cosmonaut.
Introducing the ISS
Since 2000, as part of this unit, he began to carry out training on the basis of the provisions established by the program of flights to the International Space Station. Four years later, he was sent to exercise in accordance with the survival program in force in cases of emergencies at Baikonur.
In August 2005, he began preparations for participation in the RGNII CPK among the above composition. The result of this operation was to be his inclusion in the work as a space station flight engineer, as well as the commander in the reserve unit of the ISS-15. Simultaneously with N. Stott and T. Kopra participated for two days in a test aimed at survival in non-residential areas in the event of an emergency landing, where he was appointed commander of the temporary staff. The venue for this test was a forested area near Moscow.
In early May of the same year, Suraev was elected in advance as a design engineer of the reserve unit of the future expedition ISS-17. By mutual agreement between NASA and Roscosmos, Maxim Suraev was appointed Commander-in-Chief of SOYUZ-TMA-12 in May 2006. The astronaut was also awarded this post in February 2007 and officially by NASA.
By unanimous decision of the board of Roscosmos, he was later selected to be a member of the ISS-19 reserve crew, which was dispatched in March 2009.
Thus, since January, Suraev was on the ISS-22 team, and in February of that year, NASA solemnly announced its acceptance into the main unit. In the summer of 2008, he was appointed a member of the ISS-21 and the crew commander of SOYUZ-TMA-16. This position was witnessed by Roscosmos, and then NASA made the same decision.
"Baptism of fire" Suraeva happened on September 30, 2009. Then he became the commander of the “TMA-16 UNION”, and also became a member of the space research expeditions No. 21 and 22. In October of the same year, the ship made a successful docking with the ISS. And already on January 10, Maxim Viktorovich Suraev held his debut spacewalk.
Their ship was undocked on March 18, after 169 days.
Hobbies and interests
The astronaut considers playing sports, reading, caravanning as his main hobbies. In addition, the first who began to continuously share his impressions of the flights, making the appropriate pictures, is astronaut Maxim Suraev. Photos of his flights provide an opportunity to see the beauty of space.
Personal life
In June 1997, immediately after graduation, Suraev married Anna Harokhordina. He is also the happy father of two beautiful daughters: Arina and Xenia. Victor Grigoryevich, the father of an outstanding cosmonaut, was once awarded the post of Air Force colonel. In his youth, Viktor Grigorievich gave lectures at the Chelyabinsk navigator school. Maxim Viktorovich is not the only child in the family. He grew up with his sisters - Daria and Natalia.
Awards and Achievements
Many thanks and distinctions were received by Maxim Suraev. The astronaut was awarded the honorary medal "For Merits in the Exploration of Outer Space", which is presented as a significant contribution to the development of research activities. Also, this medal is grateful for continued cooperation and continuous socially useful activities.
In his native Noginsk, he was awarded the title of Honorary Worker of the Noginsk Municipal District. And in June 2010, Maxim Suraev was awarded the title “Kuzbass Valor”.
Despite such significant merits, the Ministry of Defense did not support the CPC Council to award the space hero Maxim Suraev with the title Hero of the Russian Federation. More than once, the CPC sent to the Ministry of Defense a recommendation to assign this title to Suraev, who had a large number of flights and lived on the ISS for about six months. But, despite such great merits, the Ministry of Defense received a refusal. They argued this lack of grounds for awarding the title of this kind.
And finally, by decree of President Vladimir Putin, on October 30, 2010 Maxim Suraev was awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
Finally
Such is the great Russian cosmonaut, public figure, researcher Maxim Suraev. His biography is replete with many merits, the contribution of this person to the development of space science in Russia is difficult to overestimate.
He is the first who was able to grow true ears of wheat on the ISS. Despite such significant merits, Suraev did not dream of rewards. Day after day, his photographs are inspired by future conquerors of stars who are just stepping on their space path.
To date, Maxim Viktorovich Suraev has been awarded a high military rank and proudly bears the status of an astronaut-researcher. His space travel blog is daily watched by a huge number of users from all over the world. He also acted as the first astronaut to broadcast and answer the questions of the "earthlings" while in outer space.
Also the first who began to actively blog during his stellar travels is astronaut Maxim Suraev. Photos and videos of his flights give us the opportunity to personally touch the mysteries of the vast universe.