Gennady Mikhailovich Strekalov

Russian cosmonaut

Written by

Asif A. Siddiqi

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 24, 2026 •History

Gennady Mikhailovich Strekalov (born Oct. 28, 1940, Mytishchi, U.S.S.R. [now Russia]—died Dec. 25, 2004, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut who flew five times in space over a period of 15 years and who participated in the first joint Russian-American flight to the Mir space station. From 1957 Strekalov was a mechanic at the OKB-1 design organization (now known as RKK Energia) and worked on the first Sputnik satellite. In 1973 he formally joined...