14 Facts About Yuri Romanenko

Yuri Viktorovich Romanenko is a former Soviet cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

Over his career, Yuri Romanenko spent a total of 430 days 20 hours 21 minutes 30 seconds in space and 18 hours in space walks.

Yuri Romanenko remained on Mir for 326 days; that was the longest stay in space at that time.

Yuri Romanenko's son, Roman Romanenko is a cosmonaut, and has become the third second-generation space traveler on Soyuz TMA-15 in May 2009.

Yuri Romanenko was born on August 1,1944, in Koltubanovskiy village in Orenburg Oblast, Soviet Union.

Yuri Romanenko's father was a senior commander on military ships, and mother was a combat medic.

Yuri Romanenko was cleared for space flights in 1970, among only 16 other cosmonauts.

The third and last flight of Yuri Romanenko was on Soyuz TM-2 with Aleksandr Laveykin on February 6,1987, to the Mir station.

Yuri Romanenko conducted three space walks, on April 11, June 11 and June 16,1987, with a total duration 8 hr 48 min.

Yuri Romanenko returned to Earth on December 29,1987, in Soyuz TM-3.

Yuri Romanenko retired from flights in 1988 and became the director of Buran program, which was a Soviet alternative to the Space Shuttle.

Yuri Romanenko prepared for a spacewalk and pushed against the wall flying outside, but forgot to attach his safety cord.

However, the electrical cables attaching Yuri Romanenko would have certainly stopped him from leaving the space station.

Yuri Romanenko flew Yak-18, L-29, Mig-15, Mig-17 and Mig-21, and had 39 parachute jumps.