The article tells about a woman-cosmonaut, on whose account the longest stay in orbit of the Earth, her awards and family.
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The first woman in the history of space exploration to make the longest flight was Elena Kondakova. The astronaut today has two successful expeditions into the airless space, the first of which lasted for five months. Also, the brave Elena Vladimirovna was worthy to be called the Hero of Russia, she was awarded many medals and awards of Russia and the USA. However, after a lapse of time, she decided to leave science, trying herself in the political field.
Such a multifaceted experience has the well-known astronaut Elena Kondakova behind her. The biography of this brave woman is very rich, and we will familiarize ourselves with her below.
School and student years astronauts
Elena was born in the Moscow region, in the city of Mytishchi in 1957, March 30. She grew up not the only child in the family. In addition to her parents, Kondakov Vladimir Andreevich and Klavdia Sergeevna, there was also a son Mikhail Vladimirovich, born in 1952, who today is an assistant professor at MLTI.
Elena Kondakova grew up a very active and quick-witted child, and upon reaching her school age, her parents sent her to a comprehensive school. Having successfully completed 10 classes and having received a certificate of secondary (full) general education, she enters the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School, which graduates in 1980 in the field of "Production of Aircraft". Further, in 1983, she with the same success graduated from the faculty of the history of art and aesthetics of the All-Union Institute of Marxism and Leninism. And over time, relatively recently, in 2006, she became a certified specialist at the Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
Preparing for a space trip
At the end of the Bauman School, in 1980, Elena Kondakova begins to develop scientific projects, to carry out experiments, conduct the necessary observations and other research activities under the guidance of the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia. Day after day, Elena showed very good results: already in 1989 her candidacy was approved by the enterprise, and she was recommended at the Gagarin CPC, where subsequently she carried out all the necessary preparations. After the training, in the spring of 1990, she was awarded the additional qualification of an astronaut-researcher. Since the beginning of 1994, Elena Vladimirovna, sparing no effort, has been preparing for further participation in the seventeenth scientific expedition to the MIR orbital station, where she was invited as a member of the leading crew.
The first and longest flight in her life
During her life, she carried out two long-awaited flights into space. The first launch was given in 1994, from October 4 to March 9, on a space complex called Soyuz TM-20. In this expedition, she played the role of an onboard engineer. That flight has long been listed as one of the longest stays in outer space. Elena Vladimirovna flew back to Earth in March 1995, leaving behind being in outer space lasting 169 days for 5 hours and 35 seconds. Of course, this was a record, because before Elena, none of the women dared to spend so much time in orbit. The crew, which included Elena, performed all the operations assigned to the team.
Upon returning home, Kondakova Elena Vladimirovna, an astronaut who spent a long time in the vast space, was awarded the title Hero of Russia for the assistance provided during the flight by the Rocket and Space Corporation. For peaceful exploration of outer space, as well as for unprecedented stamina and courage, Elena Kondakova was awarded many awards and praises.
Second flight
During the second flight, their abode was an American spacecraft called the Atlantis. It started in May 1997 and spent a little more than nine days in space.
Kondakova had a very warm relationship with the first woman in the world who went to conquer the airless space, Valentina Tereshkova. With then young and inexperienced Elena, she shared her wisdom, impressions, and gave the necessary advice. Valentina Vladimirovna met and escorted Kondakova during all her flights.
A family
Space travel in this family is a familiar thing. And it is not just words. Kondakova’s husband, Valery Ryumkin, has no less courage and honor than his wife’s. He is an astronaut who managed to visit the airless space four times. If we add together the time that he spent in space, then we get a year - 365 days of life outside the house, observations and scientific experiments.
“I pulled out a lottery ticket in this life!” - This phrase was repeatedly repeated by Elena Kondakova in her interviews. She literally worships her husband and believes that she has never met a more decent person in her life. The couple has a daughter, Eugene, who today is a student of one of the higher educational institutions of Moscow.
The only thing the astronauts regret is that they only have one child. Elena always wanted to have a large family - at least three children. But fate decreed otherwise, and parents devoted all their care and unspent love to their only and beloved daughter.
Hobbies and other activities of Kondakova
Elena Vladimirovna's hobbies include theater, fishing, reading, climbing and traveling. A woman has always been a diversified person - she was literally interested in everything.
In addition to space, Elena Kondakova made attempts to realize herself as a political figure, however, after the first election, she realized that this was not for her, and decided to leave the race as soon as possible.
