Each of us probably dreamed about space in childhood, dreamed of exploring the Universe, feeling it, but to carry these aspirations through the years and not everyone can fulfill them.
77th nationwide and 305th cosmonaut in the world - this is how the pilot-cosmonaut of the Russian Federation - Yury Usachev seems to us. This man was not only lucky to fulfill his childhood dreams of the sky, but also to become one of the most honored and respected astronauts, both in the country and abroad.
Besides, Usachev managed to popularize cosmonautics, to bring it to the masses. Yuri got the idea to try himself in the writing field. And, of course, he succeeded. Today everyone can get acquainted with his works. All you have to do is walk to the nearest library and find the right shelf.
This is the talented lover of space, well-known to each of us, Yuri Usachev. Photos of his flights adorn the pages of each of his works.
Childhood, school and student time
Yuri was born in the Rostov region on October 9, 1957. For your information, he did not grow up as the only child in the family - he still hadolder brother and sister who was a few minutes older. The boy's mother worked all her life as a factory technician, and his father as a miner and underground electrician.
Usachev Yury grew up as a very quick-witted child and at the age of six his parents sent him to the first grade of secondary school No. 5 in Donetsk. In addition to studying, the boy devoted himself entirely to sports. He was especially interested in such types of wrestling as sambo and judo.
After school, he got a job as a turner at a cotton spinning factory, where he worked for a relatively short time - the young man was sent by the military registration and enlistment office to the courses of the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Air Force and Navy, on the occasion of which he was issued a 3rd class driver's license. Some time later, Yuri was called up for military service. There, after completing the compulsory educational part, he was appointed commander of the department.
Upon his return from military service in 1978, he entered Moscow for preparatory courses at the Orzhonikidze Aviation Institute. In September, he was enrolled in the faculty of astronautics, which he subsequently successfully graduated in 1985 with a diploma in mechanical engineering.
At the beginning of the journey
Due to the difficult financial situation in the family, Yuri had to combine study with work. And being a student at the Aviation Institute, he was lucky enough to take the position of a senior laboratory assistant at the faculty, which helped him to work without compromising the educational process. And during the period of industrial practice, which lasted from February to April 1985year, he tried on the role of a sailor on a training ship called Saima.
Somewhat later, he comes as an engineer to the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation named after Korolev, where, having worked adequately for the first three years, he decides to apply for enrollment in the cosmonaut corps. The statement of a young but very promising young man was approved by the authorities and immediately sent him to undergo a medical examination.
As a result, in October 1988, doctors found him fit for service, and already on October 21 he was admitted to further special training at the Gagarin TsPK. And a day later, his only and dearly beloved daughter, Eugene, is born. According to the astronaut himself, it was the best gift that life could give him.
Usachev's space activities
At the end of January 1989, Usachev Yuri Vladimirovich, a cosmonaut, was recommended for inclusion in the main structure of the Energia rocket and space corporation. There he begins work on a launch vehicle and, together with the others, takes an active part in considering the issues of further construction of aircraft, and begins to develop a plan for spacewalks.
Exactly one month later he is given the position of a test cosmonaut. There he meets an experienced pilot and future crew commander - Yuri Onufrienko. And already in 1991 he was enrolled in the team of the space corporation Energia. Subsequently, he undergoes general space training at the orbital sheltercalled "Peace".
From mid-October 1992 to January 1993, he carries out the necessary preparations for space flight, trying on the role of a ship's onboard mechanical engineer.
On January 24 of the same year, Yury Usachev acted as a backup onboard engineer for the lead expedition to the Mir and Soyuz TM-15 orbital station, Captain Poleshchuk. From February 8 to June 24, Yuri carried out the next special training for cosmonauts, only in accordance with the EO-14 program. These changes occurred due to the fact that both Yuri and his former commander-in-chief Tsibliyev did not have experience in space flights, and the higher authorities did not dare to leave them together in the same crew, but perhaps in different ones.
On July 1, 1993, he again acted as an understudy flight engineer for the fourteenth main expedition. And on August 16, the cosmonaut was already forced to begin the next preparation for the expedition.
First flight
The first and long-awaited flight into open airless space Yuri Usachev (cosmonaut) carried out from January to July 1994 on the Soyuz-18 launch vehicle and the Mir orbital complex, together with Polyakov and Afanasyev, who subsequently became his best friends. Upon his return to Earth, he was awarded the title of Hero of Russia, Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation, and also a purposeful and promising researcher, was awarded the qualification of a third-class test cosmonaut.
Having beensome time on a well-deserved vacation, Usachev Yuri decides to return to work. True, very soon he was again called up for the second crew of EO-19 instead of the notorious Poleshchuk. The astronaut quickly gained momentum and improved the skills he had acquired in the last flight in space.
On June 27, 1995, he acted as an understudy for the on-board engineer of the lead crew of Budarin. Then he began the next training, however, now he was already in the first crew of the ship.
Second flight
The next journey into the airless space began on February 21 and lasted until September 2, 1996 as part of the Soyuz-23 team and the twenty-first expedition into orbit. The second flight turned out to be a debut for Usachov - during it he was lucky to make six successful spacewalks, for which he spent a total of thirty hours and the same number of minutes of his time.
From May 19 to May 29, 2000, Yury Usachev made the third flight in his life on a new-generation spacecraft Atlantis. This expedition lasted for nine days and twenty hours and involved the restoration of the ISS.
Fourth flight
For the fourth time, Yuri Vladimirovich flew on March 8, 2001 as part of the second crew of the ISS on a spacecraft called Discovery.
Other astronaut activities
He managed to combine the bravespace travel and writing books. The Russian astronaut Yuri Usachev is so versatile. "One Day in Space" is one of his most famous creations, which was especially liked by both critics and sophisticated readers.
Yuri also shared his impressions with the public through writing, where he described in detail each of his flights. His first debut was called Diary of a Cosmonaut, released in 2004. The book was immediately liked by readers and brought fame to the author in the writing field.
As far as we know, the writer's activity completely captured the scientist. He does not intend to stop there. Yuri Vladimirovich is obsessed with many ideas and undertakings. So let's wish this wonderful and incredibly talented person further creative success!
Conclusion
With such a great, purposeful and strong-willed person, we had the opportunity to meet in this article. After all, it is precisely these qualities that Yuri Usachev possesses. The biography of this astronaut is able to surprise, delight and even motivate every desperate space lover to great achievements.
