Oleg Kononenko

Oleg Dmitriyevich Kononenko (Russian: Олег Дмитриевич Кононенко) is a Russian cosmonaut. Kononenko was born June 21, 1964, in Chardzhou, Turkmen SSR, and graduated from the N. E. Zhukovskiy Kharkov Aviation Institute in 1988 as a mechanical engineer. After graduation, Kononenko worked at the Russian Space Agency’s Central Specialized Design Bureau, starting as an engineer and working his way up to leading design engineer. His responsibilities inc... more

Oleg Dmitriyevich Kononenko (Russian: Олег Дмитриевич Кононенко) is a Russian cosmonaut. Kononenko was born June 21, 1964, in Chardzhou, Turkmen SSR, and graduated from the N. E. Zhukovskiy Kharkov Aviation Institute in 1988 as a mechanical engineer. After graduation, Kononenko worked at the Russian Space Agency’s Central Specialized Design Bureau, starting as an engineer and working his way up to leading design engineer. His responsibilities included system design, analysis, and development of spacecraft electrical power systems. On March 29, 1996, Oleg was selected as a cosmonaut candidate by the Interagency Committee, and from June 1996 to March 1998, he underwent cosmonaut training at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center and on March 20, 1998, was awarded the title of test cosmonaut by the Interagency Qualification Committee. In October 1998 he began training as part of the group of cosmonauts selected for the International Space Station (ISS) Program. From December, 2001, through... less