Konstantin Anatolyevich Valkov is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n Cosmonaut

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

. He was selected as part of the TsPK-12 Cosmonaut group in 1997.

Early life and education

Valkov was born in Kamensk-Uralsky

Kamensk-Uralsky

Kamensk-Uralsky is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kamenka and Iset Rivers . Population: 173,000 ; 51,000 .The mayor of the city is Mikhail Astakhov.-History:...

, Sverdlovsk Oblast

Sverdlovsk Oblast

Sverdlovsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Urals Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg formerly known as Sverdlovsk. Population: -Geography:...

, Russia on November 11, 1971. In 1994, he graduated from Barnaul Higher Military Air School of Pilots and subsequently became a Colonel in the Russian Air Force

Russian Air Force

The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...

.

Cosmonaut career

Valkov was selected as part of the TsPK-12 group of cosmonauts to train at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 1997. He then completed basic training in 1999. He is currently training for Expedition 31

Expedition 31

Expedition 31 is scheduled to be the thirty-first expedition to the International Space Station.-Crew:Source: NASA-External links:**...

 on the crew of Soyuz TMA-04M

Soyuz TMA-04M

Soyuz TMA-04M is a planned 2012 flight to the International Space Station. It will transport three members of the Expedition 31 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-04M will be the 113th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first flight launching in 1967...

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