Aleksandr Gorbunov

Training In 2015, Gorbunov successfully passed medical examinations at the Institute of Biomedical Problems. He subsequently applied to join the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps in June 2017 and received medical clearance in November of the same year. On 10 August 2018, he was recommended for enrollment as a cosmonaut candidate.

On 1 October 2018, Gorbunov began his general training, and over the next two years, he faced a series of demanding challenges. In February 2019, his cosmonaut candidate class completed winter survival training. In August 2019, the candidates underwent diving training at the Noginsk Rescue Center of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. Gorbunov passed the exam on 30 August 2019 and became a certified diver. His class next traveled to the Port of Sochi on the Black Sea for water survival training in October 2019. Throughout the training, Gorbunov honed his flight skills on the Aero L-39 Albatros aircraft, did parachute jumps and trained in zero gravity conditions reproduced onboard the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft.

Gorbunov was required to fly as part of the NASA-Roscosmos crew interchange agreement. NASA astronaut Nick Hague, a spaceflight veteran and one of the few individuals to have survived a launch abort aboard Soyuz MS-10 was selected as the commander of the mission.

Following the crew changes, SpaceX, NASA, Hague, and Gorbunov collaborated for three weeks to identify how Hague could assume many of the tasks typically divided between the commander and pilot, and determine which tasks could be assigned to Gorbunov, who would sit in the pilot's seat during launch. While Gorbunov is a qualified engineer and holds the rank of test cosmonaut (making him eligible to be a Soyuz commander), he had only previously received basic training on the Dragon in his role as a mission specialist. Although only serving in a limited capacity, Gorbunov was the first Russian cosmonaut to be at the controls of an American spacecraft.

On 18 March 2025, at 21:57:07 UTC, Gorbunov and the rest of the crew splashed down safely in the capsule off the coast of Florida. The capsule, crew inside, was then recovered by a water recovery team, being placed onto a recovery vessel. The crew were assisted from the capsule and were taken on stretchers for medical checks.

Personal life Gorbunov says his biggest hobby and interest is paragliding and said that his love of the activity may have inspired his desire to go to space as a way even higher into the skies. He also said that he enjoys hiking and had taken up scuba diving before being required to learn it in cosmonaut training.