President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov sent greetings and best wishes to the Hero of Turkmenistan and Russia, test cosmonaut instructor, commander of the cosmonaut detachment of the state Corporation for space activities "Roscosmos" Oleg Kononenko on the occasion of his birthday, the information program "Watan" of the Turkmen television reported.

"We in Turkmenistan are particularly proud to see how our compatriot has made a significant contribution to the development of the world's cosmonautics for many years, inspiring young generations to achieve great achievements," the head of state said and sincerely wished Oleg Kononenko good health, family well – being, happiness and new victories in his professional career.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Dmitrievich Kononenko was born on June 21, 1964 in the city of Turkmenabat in the Lebap velayat, where he graduated from secondary school No. 15. In 1988, O. Kononenko graduated from the national aerospace University named after N. E. Zhukovsky in Kharkiv with a degree in aircraft engines.

After graduation, Kononenko worked at the Central specialized design Bureau (CSDB) in Kuibyshev (Samara). Kononenko started working as an engineer and worked his way up to lead design engineer. He was engaged in designing the electrical systems of spaceships.

In 2008, Kononenko made his first space flight to the international space station (ISS). In total, he made four flights to the space station, and also broke the record for the total time spent on the ISS, spending 737 days in space. And on December 11, 2018, for the fifth time, he went into outer space to survey the skin of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, the duration of the exit is 7 hours and 45 minutes. The total duration of the five spacewalks was 32 hours and 13 minutes.

Hero of Russia and Turkmenistan Oleg Kononenko is a recipient of one of the highest awards of independent neutral Turkmenistan – the order "star of the President", which was awarded to him in 2009 by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.