Roscosmos Mission Update
Anna Kikina is the only woman in the Russian cosmonaut corps. She will soon go on her first space flight and will do it on the Crew Dragon spacecraft of the American company SpaceX Elon Musk.
What is significant of her flight?
- Anna Kikina will become the fifth Russian female cosmonaut.
- This will be the first flight of a Russian woman into space in eight years (the previous Russian woman, Elena Serova, went into space in 2014 and returned in 2015).
- This will be the first flight of a Russian cosmonaut on the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
- This will be the first flight in 20 years by a Russian on an American spacecraft (in December 2002, Valery Korzun and Sergei Treshchev landed on the Endeavor shuttle).
- This will be the 22nd Russian to fly on an American spacecraft (while Sergey Krikalev made three flights; Vladimir Titov, Yuri Usachev, Vladimir Dezhurov and Nikolai Budarin – two flights each; the rest one each)
- This will be the second flight of a Russian woman on an American spacecraft (in May 1997, Elena Kondakova flew on the space shuttle Atlantis).
Who is Anna Kikina?
Anna is 37 years old. She was born on August 27, 1984 in Novosibirsk.
In 2005, Anna took courses at the Ministry of Emergency Situations as an instructor in teaching the basics of first aid to the population, she has a lifeguard certificate.
In 2006 she graduated from the Novosibirsk State Academy of Water Transport with a degree in Emergency Protection. In the same place in 2008 she received a second higher education in the specialty “Economics and management at the enterprise (transport)”. According to her first education, Anna Kikina is a hydraulic engineer, according to her second education, she is an economist-manager.
For some time before joining the cosmonaut corps, Anna worked as a program director at Radio Siberia Altai LLC. It was there that she learned about the beginning of the selection for the cosmonaut corps.
“Before that, I didn’t even think about space. More or less understanding what kind of activity this is, having assessed the situation, I decided that this is exactly what I want to do next. I was on fire with the desire for self-realization in this profession,” Kikina said in one of her interviews.
In 2012, Kikina became a participant in the first open competition for selection to the cosmonaut corps. In total, 43 applications were submitted from women, of which six were invited to the Cosmonaut Training Center for full-time selection. As a result of the selection, only Anna was included in the group of eight cosmonaut candidates (the rest seven were men) who were allowed to train.
From 2012 to 2014, Anna underwent general space training. At this time, she learned to fly an L-39 aircraft, jumped with a parachute, underwent weightlessness training on board the Il-76MDK laboratory aircraft, tests in an isolation chamber, diving training, and survival training in various climatic and geographical zones.
“We ‘survive’ with the equipment that is made specifically for astronauts. The conditions are the same, but the items you use are strictly defined. This is a feature. You learn how to properly deal with the descent vehicle, how to get out of it. To leave or not to leave, to use it in cover or not. Radio communication, access to communication, attracting attention to oneself. You adjust, you get out of the situation. You, for example, have only one machete for the entire crew. There is nothing to dig in the snow, there is no shovel,” Anna shared with the media earlier.
In 2014, by decision of the Interdepartmental Qualification Commission, Anna Kikina was recommended for admission to the position of test cosmonaut of the Roscosmos cosmonaut corps. In 2017, she took part in the SIRIUS international isolation experiment, which simulated a flight to the moon.
Since May 2021, Anna Kikina, together with Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petelin, has been training as a member of the ISS-67 backup crew as a flight engineer for the Soyuz MS-22 manned transport spacecraft and a flight engineer for the International Space Station.
In July 2022, Roscosmos State Corporation and NASA signed an agreement on cross-flights. Within its framework, American astronauts will fly on Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and Russian cosmonauts on American spacecraft. The agreement provides for three exchanges of cosmonauts.
As part of the first of these, NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio entered the crew of the Russian Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, and Anna Kikina was appointed mission specialist for the crew of the Crew Dragon manned spacecraft as part of the Crew 5 mission. Now Kikina is preparing as a member of the ISS-68 expedition.
The launch of the American manned spacecraft Crew Dragon is planned for the Fall 2022 from the spaceport at Cape Canaveral, Florida. In the near future, Anna will travel to the United States for final training before the flight.
What else is interesting about her?
In 2021, Anna Kikina became the ambassador of the clothing collection for Russian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.
In 2021, the Barbie brand released a doll in the image of Anna Kikina, who inspired the creators with her talents, successes and personal qualities. Astronaut Barbie is presented in two versions of costumes: in a training suit and an Orlan-type space suit. The doll is released in a single version and is not intended for sale. The first Barbie astronaut doll was dedicated in 1965 to the flight of Valentina Tereshkova.
Anna Kikina is a master of sports in polyathlon (all-around) and rafting. Certified by PADI OWD. Airborne instructor. She has completed more than 150 parachute jumps.
