Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Houston, Texas 77058

NAME: Gennady Ivanovich Padalka (Colonel, Russian Air Force)
Test-Cosmonaut of Yu.A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

PERSONAL DATA: Born July 21, 1958, in Krasnodar, Russia. Married to Irina Anatiolievna Padalka (Ponomareva). They have three daughters, Yulia, Ekaterina and Sonya. His father, Ivan Vasilievich Padalka, and his mother, Valentina Mefodievna Padalka, reside in Krasnodar, Russia. Gennady enjoys the theater, and parachute sport.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Eisk Military Aviation College in 1979; in 1994 he left UNESCO International Center of Instruction Systems, where he was an engineer-ecologist.

SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded the Star of Russian Federation Hero, and the title of Russian Federation Test-Cosmonaut.

EXPERIENCE: After graduation from the Military College in 1979, Gennady Padalka served as a pilot and a senior pilot in the Air Force.

He was selected as a cosmonaut candidate to start training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 1989. From June 1989 to January 1991 he attended basic space training. In 1991 Padalka was qualified as a test-cosmonaut.

Gennady Padalka is a First Class Pilot, has flown 6 types of aircraft, and has logged 1300 hours. He is an Instructor of General Parachute Training, and has performed more than 300 parachute jumps.

From August 28, 1996 to July 30, 1997, he trained for space flight on theSoyuz-TM transport vehicle/Mir orbital complex as a commander of the back up crew for Mir 24/NASA-5, 6 Russian-American program of the 24th primary Expedition, Pegasus Russian-French program and Euro-Mir program).

October 1997 to August 1998 Padalka attended training for a space a flight aboard the Soyuz-TM/Mir orbital complex as a primary crew commander (Expedition 26 Program).

August 13, 1998, to February 28, 1999, he served aboard the Soyuz-TM-28/Mir orbital complex as the Expedition 26 crew commander, and logged 198 days in space.

June 1999 through July 2000, Padalka attended training for a space flight on "Souyz-TM" transport vehicle as an ISS contingency crew commander.

August 2000 to November 2001, Gennady Padalka attended training for a space flight as the ISS-4 back-up crew commander.

In March 2002, Padalka was assigned as station commander of the ISS Expedition-9 crew.

MARCH 2002