Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko was born and grew up in Turkmenabat in a simple family. Father Dmitriy Ivanovich Kononenko - he worked as a driver at a cargo transportation company, his mother Taisiya Stepanovna Churakova - was a communications operator at the airport. The future cosmonaut graduated from middle school number 15.

It is noteworthy that Oleg also has excellent marks on the subject “Turkmen language” - a long-term and close contact with the neighbors guys brothers Murad and Rustam Shamuradov. Next to their four-story house in the Central district was a sports ground. And all the free time the boys disappeared there, even playing hockey, not to mention volleyball and football. And, of course, in physical education from Oleg - solid "five" marks. Oleg worked in a specialized school of volleyball, was a member of the youth team of Turkmenistan.

After school, Oleg Kononenko failed to get into the N.E.Zhukovsky Kharkov Aviation Institute the first time. He returned home, he worked for a year in the instrumental workshop of the aviation technical base of the airport. The second attempt was successful, and in the same place at the university he met his future wife Tatyana. After graduation, our fellow countryman began working at the GNP RCC "TsSKB-Progress" in Samara, he rose to lead design engineer. There he was engaged in system-wide design and design work, as well as power supply of spacecraft. In 1991 he was recognized as the best young specialist.

After 7 years he passed general training, and he was awarded the qualification of a test cosmonaut. After this, preparations began directly for specific flights as an understudy. In 2008, he made the first space flight on the International Space Station (ISS) as a flight engineer with crew commander Sergei Volkov and also an American tourist Richard Helliot. The astronauts spent 198 days in orbit, conducted dozens of physical, chemical, biological and other scientific experiments, made two spacewalks, docked with Discovery and worked together with American astronauts.

The current space flight for Oleg Kononenko is the fourth in a row.

Oleg Kononenko is a Hero of Russia, a gentleman of one of the highest awards of independent neutral Turkmenistan - the Order of the “Star of the President”, which was presented to him in 2009 by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Do not miss the unique video report about the famous cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko (Part 1 and Part 2).