Oleg Kononenko – Spaceflight Now

Soyuz brings two cosmonauts, NASA astronaut back to Earth after record-setting mission

September 23, 2024 William Harwood

Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, now the world’s most experienced spaceman, first-time flier Nikolai Chub and NASA veteran Tracy Dyson undocked from the International Space Station and returned to Earth Monday, closing out a record-setting mission with a picture-perfect landing in Kazakhstan.

Soyuz lands in Kazakhstan with international crew

June 25, 2019 William Harwood

A Russian cosmonaut, his Canadian co-pilot and a NASA flight engineer boarded their Soyuz spacecraft, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth Monday evening, landing on the balmy steppe of Kazakhstan to close out an action-packed 204-day mission.

Live coverage: International Space Station crew lands in Kazakhstan

June 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

Russian commander Oleg Kononenko, Canadian co-pilot David Saint-Jacques and NASA flight engineer Anne McClain closed out a 204-day mission in orbit Monday with an undocking from the International Space Station at 7:25 p.m. EDT (2325 GMT), followed by landing in Kazakhstan aboard their Soyuz MS-11 capsule at 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 GMT Tuesday).

American, Canadian, Russian space station fliers set for return to Earth

June 24, 2019 William Harwood

A Russian cosmonaut, his Canadian co-pilot and a NASA flight engineer packed their Soyuz spacecraft for departure from the International Space Station Monday night, targeting a landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out an action-packed 204-day mission.

Cosmonauts complete tasks outside space station, honor spacewalk pioneer

May 29, 2019 William Harwood

Two Russian cosmonauts stepped outside the International Space Station Wednesday, sent birthday greetings to former cosmonaut Alexey Leonov, the first man to walk in space, and then carried out a full slate of maintenance work.

Photos: Russian spacewalkers perform ‘surgery’ on Soyuz spacecraft

December 19, 2018 Stephen Clark

Armed with a knife, scissors and other cutting tools, cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Sergey Prokopyev went outside the International Space Station on Dec. 11 to slice into the thermal insulation of a Soyuz spaceship and inspect the site of a repaired air leak that briefly caused a minor drop in air pressure in the research outpost earlier this year.

Russian spacewalkers cut into Soyuz spaceship to inspect leak repair

December 11, 2018 Stephen Clark

Clad in pressurized spacesuits, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Sergey Prokopyev used knives and scissors to slice through insulation and a debris shield on a Soyuz spaceship set to return to Earth next week, finally reaching the capsule’s metallic hull to examine the site of an air leak plugged in August.

Soyuz crew enjoys problem-free launch, docks with space station

December 3, 2018 William Harwood

A Soyuz FG rocket thundered to life and shot into orbit smoothly Monday carrying three crew members on a six-hour flight to the International Space Station. The problem-free ascent came less than two months after an Oct. 11 launch abort that forced a different crew to carry out safe-but-scary emergency landing.

Watch multi-angle replays of the Soyuz MS-11 launch

December 3, 2018 Stephen Clark

These video replays show the liftoff of the Soyuz rocket carrying Oleg Kononenko, David Saint-Jacques and Anne McClain away from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station around six hours later.

Video: Soyuz lifts off with new space station crew

December 3, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz booster climbed into orbit Monday with a U.S. Army colonel, a veteran Russian cosmonaut and a Canadian flight engineer, kicking off a six-hour chase of the International Space Station.