Gennadi Strekalov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1940)
Gennady Mikhailovich Strekalov (Russian: Генна́дий Миха́йлович Стрека́лов; 26 October 1940 – 25 December 2004) was an engineer, cosmonaut, and administrator at Russian aerospace firm RSC Energia. He flew into space five times and lived aboard the Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir space stations, spending over 268 days in space. The catastrophic explosion of a Soyuz rocket in 1983 led to him being one of only four people to use a launch escape system. He was decorated twice as Hero of the Soviet Union and received the Ashoka Chakra from India.