Tatyana Kuznetsova

Tatyana Dmitryevna Kuznetsova (; 14 July 1941 – 28 August 2018) was a Soviet cosmonaut.

Life Kuznetsova was born in Moscow in 1941. In 1958, she completed her secondary schooling, and the following year, enrolled to study typing and shorthand. Her first job, in 1959, was as a stenographer at the Ministry of Radioelectronic Industry in Moscow, followed by secretarial positions at other government research institutes.

In 1958, as a teenager, she took up parachuting as a hobby, and by 1961, she was a regional and national champion. In 1964, she became a parachuting instructor. Even though she was only 20 years old, her skill and courage in parachuting led the cosmonaut recruiters to select her for their programme. In the early days of her training, Kuznetsova was the favourite to become the first woman in space, but by late summer 1962, some failures in the physically and emotionally tough preparation regime resulted in her being removed from training. From 1979, she served in the Air Force Reserves and rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel before retiring in 1991.

Kuznetsova died on 28 August 2018.