Viktor Afanasyev Status: Retired 12/31/1948 – Nationality: Russian Type: Government First Flight: 12/2/1990 Last Flight: 10/21/2001 Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasyev Russian: Виктор Михайлович Афанасьев; born 31 December 1948) is a colonel in the Russian Air Force and a test cosmonaut of the Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) – 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.