Aleksandr Samokutyaev, Expedition 28 flight engineer, in the Zvezda service module of the International Space Station with a view of the space shuttle Atlantis outside the window during mission STS-135 on July 12, 2011.
Credit: NASA
Aleksandr Samokutyaev, Expedition 28 flight engineer, in the Zvezda service module of the International Space Station with a view of the space shuttle Atlantis outside the window during mission STS-135 on July 12, 2011.
Credit: NASA
On July 10, 2011, the American space shuttle Atlantis arrived at the space station and, for nine days, the four STS-135 astronauts joined Samokutyaev and his Expedition 28 colleagues aboard the orbiting laboratory. Not only was it the last time a shuttle would visit the ISS, but it was also the final mission of the 30-year program.
On August 3, 2011, Samokutyaev conducted his first spacewalk, venturing outside the ISS with Volkov to relocate equipment, set up a materials science experiment, and manually deploy a microsatellite.
After 164 days in Earth orbit, Samokutyaev returned to Earth in Soyuz TMA-21 with Borisenko and Garan, landing safely on the steppe of Kazakhstan.
Cosmonaut Aleksandr Samokutyaev on his first spacewalk outside the International Space Station on August 3, 2011.
Credit: Roscosmos
Cosmonaut Aleksandr Samokutyaev on his first spacewalk outside the International Space Station on August 3, 2011.
Credit: Roscosmos
Samokutyaev returned to the ISS three years later, this time with Elena Serova, one of only two female cosmonauts in the Roscosmos corps at the time and only the fourth to fly in space, and NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore aboard Soyuz TMA-14M. Samokutyaev spent about two months as Expedition 41’s flight engineer, sharing the space station with cosmonaut Max Surayev, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman (later of Artemis II fame), and ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst of Germany.
On October 22, 2014, Samokutyaev conducted the second spacewalk of his career, working with Surayev to get rid of unnecessary equipment and conduct a detailed photographic survey of the exterior of the Russian segment of the station. In total, Samokutyaev logged 10 hours and one minute on his two spacewalks.
Samokutyaev then transferred with Serova and Wilmore to the Expedition 42 crew, working with fellow 2003 cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, as well as NASA astronaut Terry Virts and ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti from Italy. He three returned to earth on March 11, 2015, adding 167 days to Samokutyaev’s time in space for a total of 331 days, 11 hours and 23 minutes.
