Aleksandr Samokutyaev

Aleksandr Mikhailovich Samokutyaev (Russian: Александр Михайлович Самокутяев; 13 March 1970 – 17 June 2026) was a Russian politician and cosmonaut. He served as a Flight Engineer for the International Space Station (ISS) long duration Expedition 27/28 missions. Samokutyaev also served as the Soyuz TMA-21 commander.^[2] His last mission was Soyuz TMA-14M Expedition 41/42 aboard the ISS.

Samokutyaev represented the Lermontovsky constituency in the State Duma from 2020 until his death.^[3]

In 1987–1988, Samokutyaev studied at Penza Polytechnical Institute. He then moved to Chernigov where he graduated from the Chernigov Higher Military Pilot School in 1992.^[4] In 2000, Samokutyaev graduated from the Gagarin Air Force Academy as a pilot-engineer.^[5]

Samokutyaev flew as a pilot, as a senior pilot, and as a deputy commander of an air squadron, logging 680 hours of flight time. Over the course of his career, he also performed 250 parachute jumps. Additionally, he was a qualified diver.

Upon graduation from the Gagarin Air Force Academy, he served as the Head of the planning division at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

On 29 May 2003, Samokutyaev was enlisted in the cosmonaut detachment and completed a general space training course. He qualified as a test-cosmonaut on 5 July 2005.

In July 2008, Samokutyaev was assigned to the backup crew for Expedition 25 to the ISS. He joined the ISS advanced training as a backup commander and, from 2009, as a flight engineer. During the launch of Soyuz TMA-18 on 2 April 2010, he served as a backup commander of the Soyuz spacecraft.

In October 2008, Samokutyaev was assigned to the main crew of the 27th long-duration expedition to the JSS. On 7 October 2009, his assignment was confirmed by NASA (press release No. 09-233).

Samokutyaev flew into space for the first time as a flight engineer for the ISS long-duration expedition 27/28 missions. The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft carrying Samokutyaev, cosmonaut Andrei Borisenko, and NASA astronaut Ron Garan launched on schedule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome's Gagarin's Start launch pad, at 23:18 UTC on 4 April 2011. On this mission, Samokutyaev served as a commander.^[6] The launch of Soyuz TMA-21 was dedicated as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first space mission by Yuri Gagarin. During the mission, Samokutyaev carried with him a small stuffed dog given to him by his daughter. During a NASA TV broadcast, the toy was seen floating, indicating the weightlessness of space.^[7]

At 23:09 UTC on 6 April, after two days of solo flight, the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft docked at the ISS.^[8]

Samokutyaev spent 164 days on board of ISS and Soyuz TMA-21 undocked from the Russian segment's Poisk module at 00:38 UTC on 16 September.^[9] Later that day, at 3:59 UTC, Soyuz TMA-21 capsule, carrying Samokutyaev, Borisenko, and Garan, touched down 93 miles southeast of the city of Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.^[10]

Samokutyaev returned to space aboard Soyuz TMA-14M, as part of the Expedition 41/42 long-duration ISS crew. The mission launched on 25 September 2014 and docked at the ISS on 26 September, mere six hours after lift-off. He remained aboard the ISS until March 2015, when Soyuz TMA-14M returned to Earth as scheduled.

On 3 August 2011, Samokutyaev completed his first spacewalk, which lasted 6 hours and 23 minutes. Together with cosmonaut Sergey Volkov, he performed science tests, as well as routine maintenance tasks on the Russian segment of the ISS. Outside the Zvezda Service Module, Samokutyaev and Volkov installed new laser communications equipment. They also photographed an antenna showing signs of diminished functionality.^[11] Once the antenna problems were resolved by the ground control, the two cosmonauts deployed a small satellite named Radioskaf-V which had originally been planned for deployment at the beginning of the spacewalk. The satellite contained an amateur radio transmitter and a student experiment. The primary task of the spacewalk was relocating the Strela 1 boom from the Pirs module to the Poisk module, but it had to be called off due to time constraints. They did, however, successfully install a science experiment – BIORISK on a handrail outside the Pirs module. The BIORISK experiment studied the effects of microbes on spacecraft structures and of solar activity on microbial growth. Finally, Samokutyaev and Volkov took some photos holding old photographs of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, spacecraft designer Sergei Korolyov, and Soviet astronautic theory pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, with Earth in the background, before entering the Pirs module, thereby completing the Russian EVA-28.

Samokutyaev and cosmonaut Maksim Surayev performed a spacewalk outside the space station on 22 October 2014.^[12] Although planned as a six-hour spacewalk, the cosmonauts were able to complete all scheduled tasks in just 3 hours and 38 minutes. During the extravehicular activity, Samokutyaev and Surayev dismantled the RK 21-8 radiometria science payload and the 2ASF1-1 and 2ASF1-2 KURS antennas from the Poisk module.^[13] The RK-21-8 science payload had been installed during the Russian EVA-28 in early 2011, and consisted of an antenna system with a calibrator, a microwave radiometer receiver system, and a command information unit. It was used for a series of seismic forecasts and earthquake studies. The RK-21-8 payload was jettisoned by Surayev 33 minutes into the EVA, on a safe departure trajectory from the ISS. Samokutyaev jettisoned the antennas – the first one at 15:43 UTC, followed by the second one five minutes later. The cosmonauts also released a protective cover from the EXPOSE-R payload which had been developed by the European Space Agency to conduct astrobiology studies by exposing samples and experiments to the space environment. After completing all operations at the Poisk module, the cosmonauts photographed the orbital station's surface so specialists could later assess its condition. Russian EVA-40 was the 184th spacewalk in support of the ISS assembly.

In April 2017, Roscosmos decided to release Samokutyaev from his post due to certain medical indicators.

Samokutyaev was married to Oksana Nikolaevna Samokutyaeva. They had one daughter. He died on 17 June 2026, at the age of 56.^[14]

In 2022, Samokutyaev was sanctioned by the UK government in relation to the Russo-Ukrainian War.^[15]

Samokutyaev received various Russian Armed Forces medals.

• List of Heroes of the Russian Federation

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

• Spacefacts biography of Aleksandr Samokutyayev
• on Astronaut.ru