Aydyn Aimbetov
Aidyn Akanuly Aimbetov is a Kazakh military pilot, cosmonaut, and space-agency leader who became the first person to fly in space under the flag of independent Kazakhstan. Earlier Kazakh-born cosmonauts had flown in the Soviet or Russian program, but Aimbetov's 2015 mission gave Kazakhstan its own national spaceflight milestone.
- Born
- July 27, 1972
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Zarya Kommunizma, Taldykorgan District,Soviet Union
Flights
1
Spacewalks
N/A
EVA time
N/A
In space
9 days, 20 hours, 14 minutes
Bio
Aimbetov trained as a military aviator after graduating from the Kutakhov Armavir Higher Military Aviation School. He served in Kazakh aviation units, flew MiG-27 and Su-27 aircraft, and reached major general rank before and after his spaceflight career became tied to KazCosmos.
Kazakhstan selected him for its first national cosmonaut group in 2002. He trained at Star City from 2003 to 2009, lost an earlier planned seat when funding fell through, then returned to flight status in 2015 after a private Soyuz seat opened on Soyuz TMA-18M.
His ISS visit lasted just under ten days, but it carried national weight. After returning on Soyuz TMA-16M, Aimbetov moved into Kazakhstan's space sector, including leadership roles at Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary and the Baiterek launch-venture organization.