Yelena Kondakova

Yelena Vladimirovna Kondakova (Russian: Елена Владимировна Кондакова; born March 30, 1957) was the third Soviet/Russian female cosmonaut to travel to space and the first woman to make a long-duration spaceflight. Her first trip into space was on Soyuz TM-20 on October 4, 1994. She returned to Earth on March 22, 1995 after a five-month stay at the Mir space station. Kondakova's second flight was as a mission specialist on the United States Space S... more

Yelena Vladimirovna Kondakova (Russian: Елена Владимировна Кондакова; born March 30, 1957) was the third Soviet/Russian female cosmonaut to travel to space and the first woman to make a long-duration spaceflight. Her first trip into space was on Soyuz TM-20 on October 4, 1994. She returned to Earth on March 22, 1995 after a five-month stay at the Mir space station. Kondakova's second flight was as a mission specialist on the United States Space Shuttle Atlantis during mission STS-84 in May 1997. Kondakova was born in Mytishchi in the Moscow Region of Russia. She was selected as a cosmonaut candidate in 1989. Since 1999, Kondakova has served as a deputy in the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. less