About

Hero of the Russian Federation

Knight of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 4th degree

Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation

Honorary Citizen of Oryol

Completed three space flights, including as ISS expedition commander

Spent 346 days in space

Performed 4 spacewalks totaling over 28 hours

Set the national spacewalk duration record twice (7 hours 29 minutes in 2013, 8 hours 12 minutes in 2018 — current record)

Became the first crew commander on a fully commercial ISS flight with two space tourists

Has over 10 years of experience in motivational speaking

Set an unofficial Guinness record in badminton to popularize the sport — played with everyone for 24 hours straight

Alexander Misurkin was born in 1977 in the village of Ershichi, Smolensk region — the homeland of the planet's first cosmonaut. He spent his childhood and youth in Oryol, and decades later chose the call sign "Altair" in honor of the brightest star in the constellation Aquila (Eagle). At age 14, he set a goal to become a cosmonaut and made his first solo glider flight before learning to drive a car. After finishing school, he entered Kachinsk Higher Military Aviation School for Pilots, then continued his education at Armavir Military Aviation Institute, graduating with a gold medal.

After graduation, from 1999 he served as a pilot-instructor, then as commander of an aviation squadron at Krasnodar Military Aviation Institute. Having become a 1st class pilot-instructor, in 2006 he began the cosmonaut selection process. From January 2007, as part of the 14th group, he began training at the Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

On March 29, 2013, becoming Russia's 116th cosmonaut, he achieved the goal set 21 years earlier. In subsequent years, he went to space twice more.

After retiring from his cosmonaut career in 2022, Alexander actively developed a philosophical concept of overcoming humanity's global challenges through personal transformation of each individual. It is based on the conviction that the key to solving global problems lies in increasing the number of people who, having found their calling and fulfilling it, naturally become creators.

To realize this mission, he created ANO "B-612" — an organization using astronautics as a universal tool for inspiration and consciousness transformation. The name was chosen deliberately: the Little Prince's asteroid is a metaphor for each person's unique path.

Special attention is given to working with youth through innovative tools. This website features AI-powered digital assistants ready to conduct engaging dialogues about space and help teenagers find answers to questions of self-determination.

"Space Doesn't Wait" popular science project — founded in 2020, awarded a 2nd degree diploma of the All-Russian Prize "For Loyalty to Science."

Book "Manned Spaceflight of the 21st Century. The Beginning" — a large-scale two-year project by a team of professionals. A unique publication with multimedia content, continuously updated on this website. The book is scheduled for release in November 2026.

Oryol Region Badminton Federation — what began in 2017 as Alexander's initiative to create a sports federation has grown over the years into a genuine mass public movement of athletes of all ages, united by love for the most cosmic sport. As president of the federation and member of the presidium of the National Badminton Federation of Russia, Alexander continues to develop this movement as a path to active longevity for all generations.

Speaking activities — over 10 years of educational and motivational presentations based on space experience.

ANO "B-612" — an organization created for education in astronautics and stimulating youth to self-realization through demonstration of real examples of professional development and goal achievement. Activities are carried out through meetings with space industry experts and dialogues with AI assistants.

How do you recognize a teacher who has found their calling? Very simple: in their presentation, any subject becomes very interesting. Afanasyeva Natalya Vladimirovna is exactly such a Teacher. It was in her class that I understood I needed to choose a profession. I understood what my heart was drawn to, but didn't know how to achieve my goal, and then she created a plan for me. My deepest respects to you, Natalya Vladimirovna, and through you — to all teachers following their calling!

Everything I lived for and strived toward in the early 2000s was the goal of becoming a 1st class pilot-instructor. Having achieved it, I matured for the next step: joining the cosmonaut corps.

From January 2007, we began general space training. An endless number of lectures and exams alternated with parachute jumps, underwater immersions, flight training, and survival exercises. And all this happened in a special atmosphere, among special, open, responsive, kind, and brave people. Our group became a single entity, a team, which has always been and remains one of the most important values for me.

I felt as if I had entered another, parallel world, in which my horizons expanded many times over. I was happy to live in it, happy to understand that all this gave me the opportunity to develop and move forward.

And on March 29, 2013, I embarked on the long-awaited flight. Who would have thought that the "How to Become a Cosmonaut" plan, devised more than two decades ago by my school teacher, would work!

Besides unforgettable impressions, the space experience gave me the opportunity to understand: people often explain as luck what is actually the result of systematic work. It became a revelation to me that being friends and being a team are two completely different stories. But I understood what it takes to become a team, realized the value and role of qualities such as trust and responsibility. And in general, awareness began to play a significantly greater role in my life. I am convinced: cosmonauts are not born, they are made. And many are capable of this, and the main obstacle is stereotypes that prevent expanding horizons in people's consciousness.

Observing our planet from space provides the most unforgettable impressions, connected with the sense of magic in the process of creation. This contemplation not only filled me with energy, but also prompted reflections about our place in the Universe, whether we will find other worlds similar to ours, why we need space at all, what awaits our civilization in the future. I came to the conviction that by understanding the surrounding world, we better understand ourselves. And self-knowledge is the only way to preserve civilization and life on our planet.

The challenge-goal of the first part of life has been achieved, but new tasks appear on the horizon. Today my mission is to help those who care find their calling and their path from consumption to creation. At ANO "B-612" we are creating a support ecosystem for those seeking their calling. Through my AI assistants and speeches, I share not just space stories, but tools for transforming thinking. And through the book, we transfer systematized knowledge about manned spaceflight to those ready to deeply immerse themselves in this topic and perhaps connect their lives with it.

I'm often asked: "And what now, after the flights?" My answer: "As long as you see meaning — the flight continues." That's how I feel and live.