1. Aidyn Aimbetov graduated from Kutakhov Armavir Higher Military Aviation School and became a military pilot, having enrolled after secondary school.
11 Facts About Aidyn Aimbetov
1. 2.
Aidyn Aimbetov served at Lugovaya and Taldykorgan, flying MiG-27 and Su-27 fighters.
3.
Aidyn Aimbetov was selected to the first Kazakh cosmonaut class in 2002, along with Mukhtar Aimakhanov, out of a pool of 2,000 candidates.
4.
Aidyn Aimbetov returned to Astana, in Kazakhstan, after failing to secure a spaceflight.
5.
Aidyn Aimbetov had been scheduled to fly in autumn 2009, but due to the world financial crisis, this fell through.
6.
Aidyn Aimbetov founded the Institute for Space Development to promote the space industry in Kazakhstan.
7.
Aidyn Aimbetov started the Young Cosmonauts School in the Astana Pupil's Palace in 2012.
8.
Aidyn Aimbetov becomes the third Kazakh-born cosmonaut to fly since Kazakhstan's independence in 1991, and the first to fly under the Kazakh flag, and as part of KazCosmos.
9.
Aidyn Aimbetov had originally been projected to fly on a 2017 launch.
10.
On 2 September 2015, Aidyn Aimbetov launched from Baikonour, Kazakhstan, aboard Soyuz TMA-18M, along with rookie astronaut Andreas Mogensen and capsule commander cosmonaut Sergey Volkov.
11.
On 11 September 2015, Aidyn Aimbetov returned from his 10-day mission to the International Space Station, and touched down on the Kazakhstan Steppe, aboard Soyuz TMA-16M, along with fellow rookie astronaut Andreas Mogensen, whom he rode up with, and capsule commander cosmonaut Gennady Padalka who was returning from a stint on the station, having become the recordholder for most time in space.