Tatyana Dmitrievna Kuznetsova (July 14, 1941, Gorky — August 28, 2018, Russia) was a Soviet test cosmonaut and a member of the first female group of the cosmonaut corps of the Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. She was born in the city of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), although a number of sources give Moscow as her place of birth.[1]
Path to Cosmonautics
Kuznetsova graduated from secondary school in Moscow in 1958. From 1959 she trained at the 1st Moscow Aeroclub, while also taking courses in typing and shorthand. She began her working career at Scientific Research Institute-35 (now the Pulsar Research and Production Enterprise) of the USSR Ministry of the Electronics Industry — first as a stenographer, then as secretary of the Komsomol organization (1960–1961) and senior laboratory assistant (1961–1962).[1]
In 1961 she became the overall women's champion of Moscow in parachuting, won the All-Union competitions, and was awarded the title of Master of Sport of the USSR. By the spring of 1962 she had made more than 250 jumps.[1]
On March 10, 1962, she was drafted into the Soviet Army and enrolled as a cosmonaut trainee in the 2nd detachment of the Cosmonaut Training Center, where she trained alongside Valentina Tereshkova, Zhanna Yorkina, Valentina Ponomaryova, and Irina Solovyova. In January 1963, after successfully passing her state examinations, she was transferred to the position of cosmonaut in the 2nd detachment.[1][2]
Training and Service
In 1965–1966, Kuznetsova trained for a flight aboard the Voskhod spacecraft with a spacewalk, but the flight was canceled when the Voskhod program was closed.[1] From 1964, alongside her service in the Air Force, she studied in the engineering faculty of the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy; in 1969 she received a diploma as a pilot-cosmonaut-engineer. That same year the women's group was disbanded, and Kuznetsova was discharged from the detachment.[1]
After the idea of a women's spaceflight was revived in 1978, she was cleared for special training. From 1979 to 1991 she worked in the 3rd Directorate of the Cosmonaut Training Center in various positions: lead engineer, senior researcher, head of the 4th laboratory, and lead test engineer of the 1st department. In 1984 she was awarded the rank of Colonel of the Air Force. On April 6, 1991, she was transferred to the reserve.[1]
Family
Her father was Dmitry Filippovich Kuznetsov (1899–1967), and her mother was Lina Nikonorovna Kuznetsova (1900–1970). Her brothers were Viktor (1927–1989) and Evgeny (born 1937). Her husband was Lado Vladimirovich Pitskhelauri (born 1932), a member of the 2nd and 3rd Air Force cosmonaut intakes. Her son, Vladimir Pitskhelauri (born 1971), is a programmer.[1]
Awards
For her service in the USSR Air Force, Kuznetsova was awarded the medals "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin," "20 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945," "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow," and "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR," as well as the jubilee medals for the 50th, 60th, and 70th anniversaries of the Armed Forces.[1]
Sources
- cyclowiki.org — Tatyana Dmitrievna Kuznetsova — Cyclopedia
- lib.cas.cz — Tat'jana Dmitrijevna Kuznecova