Russian Cosmonauts - Other Cosmonauts

Other Cosmonauts

In 1982, as an extension of the Intercosmos program, the Soviet Union began to fly the citizens of countries not part of the Soviet bloc, starting with Jean-Loup Chrétien of France. The USSR and later Russia have transported 49 citizens of 18 other nations on the Soyuz vehicle, usually as part of a commercial arrangement, including seven space tourists flying through the Space Adventures contract. Since 2001, the Soyuz has been used to transport ESA, JAXA, and NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. These space travelers are not always referred to as "cosmonauts", especially if they belong to another space program; e.g., NASA employees are almost always referred to as "astronauts", even if they are flying on a Russian vehicle.