HEY GUYS!!! TODAY LIST IS ABOUT TOP 10 MOST FAMOUS ASTRONAUTS OF ALL TIME.... SO LET'S GOOOOOOO...
10. Alexei Leonov
Alexei Leonov (on the right) with Anton Shkaplerov
Accolades: Hero of the Soviet Union (twice); International Space Hall of Fame and International Air & Space Hall of Fame inductee; FAI Gold Space Medal recipient.
Known For: The first person to conduct an EVA or spacewalk
Alexei Leonov was perhaps one of the most admired cosmonauts in the former Soviet Union. He was the first person to perform a spacewalk or EVA, and if things had gone according to plan, the Soviet Cosmonaut could have been the first person on the moon.
On March 18, 1965, after reaching the low earth orbit on Voskhod 2, Leonov and his fellow crew member made necessary preparations for the first-ever extravehicular activity. It lasted for 12 minutes and 8 seconds. Near the end of the spacewalk, Leonov experienced critical malfunctions with his spacesuit that temporarily prevented Leonov from re-entering the spacecraft.
Leonov returned to space for the second and last time in July 1975 as the commander of Soyuz-19, a part of the historic Apollo-Soyuz mission (first space expedition between the United States and the Soviet Union).
9. Charles Pete Conrad
Accolades: Congressional Space Medal of Honor; NASA Distinguished Service Medals, and NASA Exceptional Service Medals (two); Gold Medal (FAI)
Know For: Being the third person to walk on the moon
Being only the third human being to reach the lunar surface is enough credential for Charles Conrad to be on any list of most famous astronauts in the world. However, one should not overlook his other accomplishments.
A graduate from Princeton University, Charles Conrad Jr., was the first NASA astronaut from the Ivy League. After college, Conrad joined the U.S Navy, where he trained as a fighter pilot. In 1958, NASA approached him for the astronaut selection process of the “Mercury Seven” program but was eventually rejected.
About four years later, while searching for the next group of astronauts, Conrad was again considered, and this time, he was pursued by Alan Shepherd, both of whom knew either from their early Navy days.
His first spaceflight took place on August 21, 1965, onboard Gemini 5. The mission tested several critical systems and maneuvers planned for the Apollo Program. The spacecraft and its two-person crew, including Conrad, spent almost eight hours in space, setting a new endurance record.
8. Chris Hadfield
Accolades: NASA Exceptional Service Medal; Order of Canada (the second-highest honor in Canada)
Without a doubt, Chris Hadfield is one of the most popular modern astronauts with a large fan following and social media presence. Born and raised in Southern Ontario, Hatfield’s biggest inspiration while growing up was watching the telecast of Apollo 11 landing on the lunar surface.
In 1978, Hadfield joined the Canadian Armed Forces and subsequently graduating from the Royal Military College in 1982. He became a successful test pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Forces and, in later years, an exchange officer with the United States Navy.
Hadfield made it to the Canadian Space Agency in 1992, and in the same year, he was shortlisted to join NASA. He made a total of three trips to space. On his maiden spaceflight (STS-74) in November 1995, Chris Hadfield became the first and only Canadian to board the Russian Space Station Mir.
On his third and last mission to space, Expedition 35, he became the first Canadian to command the International Space Station.
7. John Glenn
Accolades: Congressional Space Medal of Honor; NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Known For: First American and the third person to orbit the Earth
John Herschel Glenn Jr. had an illustrious career. He was a distinguished fighter pilot in the U.S Navy and later the Marine Corps, a famed astronaut, and a United States Senator in his later years.
In 1957, while with the U.S Navy as a test pilot, Herschel became the first person to perform a transcontinental plane at supersonic speeds. The on-board camera on his flight took a continuous panoramic image of the United States, the first of its kind.
6. Sally Ride
Sally Ride communicates with controllers from the Challenger’s flight deck
Accolades: NASA Space Flight Medal (twice); the Astronaut Hall of Fame and National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee.
Known For: First American women in space
Sally Kristen Ride became an inspiration for every woman around the world when she came to be the first American woman and third overall to reach space. She remains the youngest American astronaut to have done so.
Before joining NASA in 1978, Sally Ride earned her master’s and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Her doctoral research was on the interaction of x-radiation with the interstellar medium.
During her time with NASA, Sally made two spaceflights, STS-7 and STS-41-G. A third mission (STS-61-M) was also planned, for which Sally had already completed an eight-month training, but was scrapped due to the Challenger disaster.
5. Alan Shepard
Edgar D. Mitchell, Alan B. Shepard Jr. (center), and Stuart A. Roosa
Accolades: Congressional Space Medal of Honor; NASA Distinguished Service Medal (twice); NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Known For: First American to space, and the fifth to walk on the lunar surface
The successful launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, amidst the cold war, shook America’s confidence to pursue its ambitions in space and showcase technological superiority over the Soviets. In response, the then U.S president Dwight Eisenhower established nation’s first space agency, NASA, the following year.
4. Buzz Aldrin
Accolades: NASA Distinguished Service Medal; NASA Exceptional Service Medal; International Space Hall of Fame and U.S Astronaut Hall of Fame
Known For: The second person to walk on the Moon
Time spent in space: 289 hours and 53 minutes
Nicknamed “Dr. Rendezvous,” Buzz Aldrin was the first NASA astronaut with a doctorate. On his first spaceflight onboard Gemini 12, Aldrin performed three EVAs for a total duration of more than 5 hours.
Along with his fellow crew member, James Lovell, Aldrin carried out more than a dozen scientific research and other objectives such as docking/undocking using the newly developed gravity-gradient stabilization technique.
3. Valentina Tereshkova
Valentina Tereshkova with Nikita Khrushchev, Pavel Popovich, and Yuri Gagarin at Lenin’s Mausoleum
Accolades: Numerous civilian honors in the Soviet Union
Known For: Being the first women in space
Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly in space on June 16, 1963, almost two decades before Sally Ride. She remains the youngest female astronaut to do so.
Before joining the Soviet space program, Valentina worked as an assembly worker in a local textile factory was an avid skydiver. After her maiden spaceflight onboard Vostok 6, she left the Soviet Space Agency and joined politics, gaining widespread fame.
From 1966 to 1991, she held various important legal offices. She remained politically active years after the collapse of the USSR and is regarded as a hero in Russia.
2. Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong stands alongside X-15 -1
Accolades: Congressional Space Medal of Honor; Congressional Gold Medal; NASA Distinguished Service Medal; NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Known For: The first person to walk on the lunar surface
Neil Armstrong is arguably the most famous astronaut in the world and an inspiration to aspiring youngsters who dream of becoming an astronaut one day. Born in 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio, Armstrong graduated from Purdue University and became a member of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics before becoming an astronaut.
. Yuri Gagarin
Accolades: Hero of the Soviet Union
Known For: The first person in space
No list of famous astronauts is complete without the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. In 1955, Yuri was drafted as a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force and was selected to the Soviet Space program due to his superior flying record. He was then shortlisted for a special group of astronauts known as the Sochi Six (Soviet’s equivalent of Mercury Seven).
Read: 15 Scientists That Are Not Rewarded Fairly For Their Contribution
On April 12th, 1961, with the entry of Vostok 1 into outer space, Gagarin became the first-ever human to reach space. After his triumphant return, Gagarin instantly became a national hero and was awarded various honors. Gagarin tragically died in 1968 during a fatal routine exercise. A detailed report of the crash was declassified in 2013, which stated that he died due to another pilot’s error.
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