S.P. Korolev, RSC Energia picture

ISS Commander,
Soyuz TMA TSC Flight Engineer,
3 Class Test Cosmonaut
of Korolev Rocket & Space
Corporation Energia

DATA AND PLACE OF BIRTH:
January 3, 1959, Batumi, Adzhar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgia)
Farther: Nikolai Fedorovich Yurchikhin, born in 1932, a pensioner.
Mother: Mikrula Sofoklievna Yurchikhina (Grammatikopulo), born in 1938, a pensioner.
Parents live in Sindos, Greece.

EDUCATION:
In 1983 he graduated from Moscow Aviation Institute after S. Ordzhonikidze and got qualification of a mechanical engineer and was specialized in Aerospace Vehicles. In April 2001 he finished the post-graduate course of Moscow State University of Service, defended a thesis for a candidate of science (economics).

FAMILY STATUS: married.
Wife: Larisa Anatolievna Yurchikhina. They have two daughters.

AWARDS AND RANKS:
The Russian Federation pilot-cosmonaut (2003).
Decorated with the Order of Friendship (2003), Space Flight Medal, NASA (2003), Medals of the Federation of Cosmonautics, RF.

HOBBY:
History of cosmonautics, literature, stamp collection, sports.

WORK EXPERIENCE:
From 1983 to 1997 he worked as an engineer, senior engineer, leading engineer at NPO Energia/RSC Energia. He worked in the Main Operations Control Team (MOCT) of MCC and then as a shift manager of MOCT planning group.
From November 1990 to June 1991 he was a manager of the operations control team of floating command-measuring station "Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin".
In 1995-1997 he was an assistant flight manager under the Mir-NASA program. On July 28, 1997 he was selected as a candidate for cosmonauts by decision of the Interdepartmental Qualification Committee and on October 14, 1997 he was enlisted as a candidate for cosmonauts in the RSC Energia cosmonaut corps.
In 1998-1999 he passed a course of general space training and on December 1, 1999 he was qualified as a test cosmonaut.
In 2000-2001 he passed training at Yu.A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center as a member of the cosmonaut group under the ISS program.
From September 2001 to October 2002, he passed training at the Johnson Space Center as a member of the Atlantis Shuttle crew for a spaceflight (flight 9A).
On October 7-18, 2002 he performed his first space flight as the mission specialist of the Atlantis Shuttle (STS-112) under the ISS assembly program (mission 2A). The main task of this flight was to deliver section S1 of the main truss, scientific equipment and cargoes to the ISS. The flight duration was 10 days 19 hrs 57 min 49 s.
From January 2004 to October 2005 he passed training as the ISS and Soyuz TSC flight engineer and from October 2005 to April 2006 he passed training as the ISS flight engineer and the Soyuz TMA TSC commander within the backup crew under ISS-13.
From April 2006 he began training within the ISS-15 prime crew as the ISS commander and the Soyuz TMA TSC flight engineer.

March 2007
By the data submitted by Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
and reference book The Soviet and Russian Cosmonauts, 1960-2000.