Grigory Kuznetsov

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"Kutnetsov" redirects here. For the mining station named in his honour, see Kuznetsov Station.

Grigory Kuznetsov
Nicknames	Kuz Comrade Stalin (by Tom Parker)
Personal Information
Gender	Male
Date of death	17 March 2003
Place of death	XF Kronos, Asteroid belt
Cause of death	Asphyxiation due to lack of oxygen
Monuments	Goldilocks mining station named Kuznetsov station
Family	Wife 1 daughter
Nationality	Soviet Union
Professional Information
Occupation	Cosmonaut
Affiliation	Roscosmos
Rank	Colonel
Missions	Mars-94 Sojourner-1 Happy Valley 2003 Ranger-1
Awards	Recipient of the Order of Lenin
Series Information
Actor	Lev Gorn
Seasons	Three, Four
Episodes	10
First seen	3x01
Last seen	4x01 4x05 (flashback)

Grigory Kuznetsov was a Soviet cosmonaut and the commander of Roscosmos' first crewed mission to Mars in 1994.

History

Season 3

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In 1992, Roscosmos director Sergei Nikulov publicly announced on Soviet television Grigory Kuznetsov as the mission commander for their planned mission to Mars in 1996. The mission was later moved forward to 1994 after Helios Aerospace announced their participation in the race, and to launch two years earlier than both NASA and Roscosmos.

After the failure of the Soviet spacecraft due to technical problems halfway to Mars and their rescue by NASA's Sojourner crew, Grigory became part of the US/USSR joint mission on the red planet. After the landing, he tried to fool Danielle Poole and be the first human to set foot on Mars, but she went after him and they finally stepped on Martian ground together.

Season 4

After a game of cards, Kuznetsov beat Ed Baldwin to become the first person to step foot on an asteroid. On March 17, 2003, as part of a mission to tow the asteroid XF Kronos towards Mars' orbit for later mining, he undertook an EVA from the capture ship Ranger 1 to the floating rock in space. After marking the historic moment, the Happy Valley team anchored a docking construction to connect the asteroid with the towing craft. However, the anchors were not strong enough, tethers broke loose, and the crew lost control. Without hesitation, Kuznetsov agreed to re-tension the cables, despite the pleas from the Happy Valley commander George Peters. He was joined by Helios astronaut Tom Parker. However, the structure would collapse and Kuznetsov's leg would be crushed by the truss. Kuznetsov warned Parker about the incoming structural debris, which impaled the latter. Realizing his suit was punctured and losing oxygen quickly, Kuznetsov pleaded with Ed to cut him loose, otherwise risking the rest of the team. After some reluctance, Baldwin separated Ranger-1, leaving Kuznetsov to drift off with the asteroid.

Legacy

News of Kuznetsov's death lead to Danielle Poole to come out of retirement and return to Happy Valley as the new commander. Denizens of Happy Valley also wore GK (ГК) patches to honor him. However, some like Samantha Massey weren't pleased as there were no tribute for Tom Parker who also was lost during that mission.

Kuznetsov Station was later named in his honour.

Gallery

See also: Image gallery of Grigory Kuznetsov

Being announced as mission commander, 1992

Grigory arriving on Sojourner, 1994

Grigory aboard Sojourner

Grigory in Happy Valley base, 1995

Grigory's news video

Dringking Vodka

Grigory makes contact with asteroid, 2003

First man on an asteroid

Kuznetsov's death in the news

See also

• Dimitri Mayakovsky
• Isabel Castillo
• Alexei Poletov
• Mars-94
• Kuznetsov Station