Sergey Nikolayevich Ryzhikov (Russian: Сергей Николаевич Рыжиков; born on August 19, 1974), lieutenant colonel of Russian Air Force, is a Russian cosmonaut, selected in 2006.[1][2] Ryzhikov launched on his first spaceflight onboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft.[3] He spent approximately six months onboard the International Space Station taking part in Expedition 49/50, returning to Earth on April 10, 2017.[4][5]

Cosmonaut career [ edit ]

Expedition 49/50 [ edit ]

The Expedition 50 flight portrait

Ryzhikov at work in Zvezda

Ryzhikov launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for his first space flight to the ISS onboard Soyuz MS-02 as Soyuz commander, alongside fellow cosmonaut Andrei Borisenko and NASA astronaut and Expedition 50 commander Shane Kimbrough. They were joined by the crew of Soyuz MS-03 approximately one month into their mission. They safely returned to Earth on April 10, 2017, concluding their mission after 173 days on orbit.