Yuri Gidzenko: Difference between revisions

| nationality =Russian Soviet Union (1962–1991)<br />Russia(1991–)

| birth_place =[[ElanetsYelanets]], [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]], [[Soviet Union]]

'''Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko''' ({{Lang-uk|Ю́рій Па́влович Гідзе́нко}}, {{lang-ru|link=no|Юрий Павлович Гидзенко}}; born March 26, 1962) is a Russian [[cosmonaut]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/gidzenko.html|title=Cosmonaut Bio: Yuri Gidzenko|author=NASA|access-date=June 17, 2010|date=August 2007}}</ref> He was a test cosmonaut of the [[Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center]] (TsPK). Gidzenko has flown into space three times and has lived on board the Mir and the International Space Station. He has also conducted two career spacewalks. Although he retired on July 15, 2001, he continued his employment by a special contract until [[Soyuz TM-34]] concluded. Since 2004 to May 2009, Gidzenko was the Director of the 3rd department within the TsPK. Since May 2009 he serves as the Deputy Chief of Cosmonaut Training Center TsPK.

Gidzenko was born on March 26, 1962, Elanets, [[Mykolaiv Oblast]], [[Ukraine]] (then in the [[Soviet Union]]). Gidzenko is married to Olga Vladimirovna Shapovalova. They have two sons, Sergei, born in 1986 and Alexander, born in 1988. His father, Pavel Vasilyevich Gidzenko, and mother, Galina Mikhailovna Gidzenko, live in Berezovka-2, OdessaOdesa area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.energia.ru/en/iss/iss01/gidzenko.html|title=Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko|author=ENERGIA|date=October 2000|access-date=June 17, 2010}}</ref> Gidzenko's hobbies include football, swimming, reading of literature, photography, and walks in forests.

Upon graduation from the pilot school in 1983, Gidzenko served as a pilot and as a senior pilot in the RAir Force units of the OdessaOdesa military district. He was a 3rd class military pilot. Gidzenko was trained to fly three types of aircraft and has logged a total flying time of 850 hours. He is also a parachute-landing training instructor and has made 170 jumps.