Status: Lost In Training
2/16/1937 – 3/23/1961
Nationality: Russian
Type: Government
Valentin Vasiliyevich Bondarenko (Ukrainian: Валентин Васильович Бондаренко, Russian: Валентин Васильевич Бондаренко; 16 February 1937 – 23 March 1961) was a Soviet fighter pilot selected in 1960 for training as a cosmonaut. He died as the result of burns sustained in a fire during a 15-day low-pressure endurance experiment in Moscow. The government concealed the death, along with Bondarenko’s membership in the cosmonaut corps, until 1980. A crater on the Moon’s far side is named after him.
Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) - RFSA
- Type: Government
- Abbreviation: RFSA
- Administration: Administrator: Yuri Borisov
- Founded: 1992
- Launchers: Soyuz
- Spacecraft: Soyuz
- Country: RUS
The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of the Russian Federation and general aerospace research. Soyuz has many launch locations the Russian sites are Baikonur, Plesetsk and Vostochny however Ariane also purchases the vehicle and launches it from French Guiana.