Gennady Padalka

Been in space 1998, 2004, 2009, 2012 and 2015

Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka

Born 1958 in Kranodar, Soviet Union. Lives near Moscow. Russian Air Force pilot, colonel. Roscosmos cosmonaut, consultant and keynote speaker.

MIR-26 / Soyuz TM-28 logo
ISS Expedition 9 logo
ISS Expedition 19 logo
ISS Expedition 20 logo
ISS Expedition 31 logo
ISS Expedition 32 logo
ISS Expedition 43 logo
ISS Expedition 44 logo
First Spaceflight to Mir Space Station

After ten-months of preparation, Gennady Padalka launched to space for the first time on the 'Soyuz TM-28' spacecraft (August 13th, 1998). Padalka spent 199 days in space together with the flight engineer Sergei Avdeev (Mir EO-26).

cosmonaut Gennady Padalka 1998
cosmonaut Gennady Padalka 2015
Record Setting Cosmonaut

Total of 878 days in space over 5 flights

Space is his second home: Gennady Padalka spent about two and a half years of his life at the space stations Mir and ISS. He orbited earth more than 13,000 times and performed 8 EVAs.

International Space Station

Expedition 9 Commander | Expedition 19 & 20 Commander | Expedition 31 Flight Engineer, Expedition 32 Commander | Expedition 43 Flight Engineer, Expedition 44 Commander

Gennadi Padalka conducted a large number of experiments from different science fields. As commander, he was responsible for the safety of the space station and its crew. He worked with space flyers from Russia, USA, Canada, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.

cosmonaut Gennady Padalka in Space Expedition 9
cosmonaut Gennady Padalka in Space Expedition 9
cosmonaut Gennady Padalka in Space Expedition 9
cosmonaut Gennady Padalka in Space EVA selfie
cosmonaut Gennady Padalka in Space during EVA

“Florian's work is outstanding”

In space, there are no borders between humans, nations and cultures. That's what Gennady Padalka felt on each of his 878 days in space – and every day on Earth since then. That's why he appreciates the encounters with people like Charlie Duke and Florian Noller at BEEN IN SPACE.

cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and Been In Space CEO Florian Noller

Gennady Padalka about "Been In Space", our artifacts and CEO Florian Noller.