Russian cosmonaut Alexander Viktorenko, whose four flights into Earth orbit included the first test of a "space motorcycle" and first launch after the fall of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 76.
The Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City confirmed Viktorenko's death in a statement released on Thursday (Aug. 10).
"The whole life of Alexander Stepanovich was devoted to astronautics. He made an invaluable contribution to the history of space exploration," the statement read.
Selected in 1978 to join the Soviet corps, Viktorenko's cosmonaut career spanned 19 years, including commanding four missions to the Mir space station.
Viktorenko's first launch on July 22, 1987, began a week-long mission to deliver fellow Soviet cosmonaut Alexander Aleksandrov for a long-duration stay on Mir and accompany Muhammed Faris, a Syrian cosmonaut, to and from the space station. The Soyuz TM-3 flight marked the first time a Mir crew launched on board one spacecraft and landed on another, with Viktorenko, Faris and Alexander Laveykin (who launched 174 days earlier) returning to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-2.
