Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov

Aleksandrov was born in Omurtag, Bulgaria on December 1, 1951. He graduated from the Bulgarian Air Force Academy in 1974 and obtained a degree in technical sciences in 1983. In the Bulgarian Air Force, Aleksandrov rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Aleksandrov was selected as backup to Georgi Ivanov on the Soyuz 33 mission to the Salyut 6 space station. Subsequently, Aleksandrov was assigned to the prime crew of the Soyuz TM-5 mission to the Mir space station. Aleksandrov later became Deputy Director of the Institute of Space Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Currently Aleksandrov works as a research scientist. He is married and has one child. ==Honours and awards==

• Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1988) • Hero of the Soviet Union (1988) • Order of Georgi Dimitrov • Order of Lenin (1988) • Order of Stara Planina (2003), first class, on the 15th anniversary of the second Soviet-Bulgarian flight • Military Pilot First Class • Pilot-Cosmonaut of Bulgaria • Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" (12 April 2011) – for outstanding contribution to the development of international cooperation in crewed space flight ==See also==