The legendary Soviet cosmonaut has died

Legendary Kazakhstani cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev has passed away

The renowned Kazakhstani pilot-cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev died at the age of 75, reports Radio Azattyk.

Information about the cause of death has not yet been disclosed.

Talgat Musabayev left a bright mark in the history of space exploration, completing three space flights - in 1994, 1998, and 2001. During his career, he spent an impressive 43 hours and 46 minutes in open space, performing 8 spacewalks.

In the early 2000s, Musabayev held responsible positions as the head of combat training for the Army Aviation Department and deputy head of the Zhukovsky Military Air Engineering Academy. In the mid-2000s, he headed the joint Russian-Kazakhstani enterprise "Baiterek" and led the Aerospace Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan.

He also headed the National Space Agency of Kazakhstan. Musabayev left his leadership position at this agency after his name appeared in the scandalous Airbus case. In 2016, the French publication Mediapart published an investigation into the sale of Airbus helicopters to Kazakhstan in 2010. According to the investigation materials, Kazakhstani officials allegedly received 12 million euros. Among the main Kazakhstani figures in the scandal was cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev. In Kazakhstan itself, no official investigation was conducted on this matter.