For more than half a century, mankind has been exploring comic space. The results may seem modest. However, behind each step lies the colossal work of a large team. Oleg Kononenko astronaut, who made four flights to Earth orbit.
Starting conditions
Boys born in the 60s, almost all dreamed of becoming astronauts. Oleg Dmitrievich Kononenko was born on June 21, 1964 in an ordinary Soviet family. Parents at that time lived in the city of Chardzhou. My father worked as a driver. Mother is a picker at a local airport. The boy grew up active and inquisitive. He was fond of sports, participated in social events. In parallel with the secondary school he graduated from art.
Oleg loved team games, and in the tenth grade he was assigned the first category in volleyball. Having received a certificate of maturity, he entered the Kharkov Aviation Institute. In his student days, Kononenko did not change his habits. He played volleyball for the national team of the institute. For three years he was listed as the director of the cosmonautics museum at the faculty. In 1988 he received higher education and qualification of a mechanical engineer. By distribution, he came to work in a specialized design bureau of the city of Kuibyshev.
Preparatory stage
In a secret design bureau, a young specialist was engaged in the development of power supply systems for spacecraft. Each engineer tried to contribute to the creation of satellites and orbital stations. Kononenko made several rationalization proposals that were approved for use. But technical creativity on Earth does not replace testing systems in space. Given this circumstance, Oleg filed an application for admission to the cosmonaut squad.
After considering the application and diverse inspections, the request of the engineer was granted. The candidate’s state of health was carefully checked. Since 1998, preparations for the flight began. It is important to note that the training program is designed for several years. Such that three months after enrollment a person was sent into space does not happen. Kononenko not only went through all the necessary procedures, but also continued to work on ongoing projects.
