Hero of Turkmenistan and Russia, commander of the Roscosmos cosmonaut detachment Oleg Kononenko visited the Vostochny Cosmodrome on his birthday and inspected its infrastructure, Samara Regional Broadcasting Agency reports.

Construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome began in 2010. The second stage is currently under construction at the facility, and the launch of the Angara rocket is planned there in 2023. In addition, in 2025, it will be used to launch a new manned ship into orbit.

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov sent greetings and best wishes on the occasion of his birthday, which is being celebrated today.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Dmitrievich Kononenko was born on June 21, 1964 in the city of Turkmenabat in the Lebap Region, where he graduated from secondary school № 15. In 1988, Oleg Kononenko graduated from the national aerospace National Aerospace University – Kharkiv Aviation Institute with a degree in aircraft engines.

After graduation, Kononenko worked at the Central specialized design Bureau in Kuybyshev (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. Oleg Kononenko currently holds the record for the total duration of stay on the ISS.

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.