Aleksandr Gorbunov

Gorbunov was born on 24 May 1990 in the city of Zheleznogorsk in the Kursk region of Russia, which at the time was still part of the Soviet Union. Gorbunov said that when he was a young child, he loved the natural world and wanted to be a biologist. He first became interested in aviation when he discovered model planes, and by high school had decided to pursue a future as an aerospace engineer.^[2] In 2008, he graduated from Zheleznogorsk secondary school No. 6.

In 2009, he enrolled at the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) where until 2012 he studied the "operation and repair of aircraft, helicopters and aircraft engines." In 2014, Gorbunov graduated with honors from the institute with an engineering degree with a specialty qualification in "Spacecraft and Upper Stages."

In October 2012, Gorbunov began working as a technician at Energia, a Russian spacecraft manufacturer. On 31 March 2014 he was promoted to an engineer at Energia.^[3][4] It was during his time, as he was designing spacecraft, that he realized that he also wanted the chance to use them, and after meeting with a few cosmonauts he decided to try and join the cosmonaut corps.^[5]

In 2015, Gorbunov successfully passed medical examinations at the Institute of Biomedical Problems. He subsequently applied to join the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps in June 2017 and received medical clearance in November of the same year. On 10 August 2018, he was recommended for enrollment as a cosmonaut candidate.^[3][6]

On 1 October 2018, Gorbunov began his general training, and over the next two years, he faced a series of demanding challenges. In February 2019, his cosmonaut candidate class completed winter survival training. In August 2019, the candidates underwent diving training at the Noginsk Rescue Center of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. Gorbunov passed the exam on 30 August 2019 and became a certified diver. His class next traveled to the Port of Sochi on the Black Sea for water survival training in October 2019. Throughout the training, Gorbunov honed his flight skills on the Aero L-39 Albatros aircraft, did parachute jumps and trained in zero gravity conditions reproduced onboard the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft.^[4][3][1]

This training culminated on 24 November 2020, when Gorbunov successfully passed the state exam. On 2 December 2020, by decision of the Interdepartmental Qualification Commission, following a meeting at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, he was awarded the rank of test cosmonaut.^[3]

On 20 January 2022, the Interdepartmental Commission for the Selection of Cosmonauts approved Gorbunov as part of the main crew of Expedition 72.^[3][7]

In May 2023, information appeared on the website of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center that Gorbunov was being trained as a backup cosmonaut for Alexander Grebenkin, a member of the main crew of the American manned spacecraft Crew Dragon's SpaceX Crew-8 mission, which is scheduled to be launched to the ISS in early February 2024. Gorbunov was also trained as a flight engineer for the main crew of the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft and Expedition 72. Later, he was selected for SpaceX Crew-9 mission in January 2024 under the Dragon-Soyuz cross-crew flight system to allow the station to be continuously manned, in case, either of the two crewed vehicles runs into issues.^[7][3][1]