About Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov
Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov (Bulgarian: Александър Панайотов Александров; 1 December 1951 – 10 July 2026) was a Bulgarian cosmonaut. He was the second Bulgarian to reach outer space, after Georgi Ivanov. == Biography == Aleksandrov was born in Omurtag, Bulgaria on 1 December 1951. He graduated from the Bulgarian Air Force Academy in 1974 and obtained a degree in technical sciences in 1983. In the Bulgarian Air Force, Aleksandrov rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was selected as a research cosmonaut on 1 March 1978, as part of the Soviet Union's Intercosmos program. The selection featured six semifinalists, including the parachute jump record holder, Chavdar Djurov, who was killed during the selection process. Aleksandrov was selected as backup to Georgi Ivanov on the Soyuz 33 mission to the Salyut 6 space station. Subsequently, Aleksandrov was assigned to the prime crew of the Soyuz TM-5 mission to the Mir space station. On 7 June 1988, Aleksandrov launched aboard TM-5 as a research cosmonaut along with mission commander Anatoly Solovyev and Viktor Savinykh.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.