Born in
Cherepovets, Nesterov graduated from
Moscow Aviation Institute in 1972 with a Master's degree in mechanical engineering, and from the
Dzerzhinsky Military Academy of Rocket Forces in 1978. He served in the
Soviet Army from 1972 to 1992, after which he joined the
Russian Space Agency, first serving as a deputy head of Directorate for launch vehicles and ground infrastructure until 2004, and then as the head of the same directorate 2004–2005. On 25 November 2005, he was appointed general director of Khrunichev by a Russian Federation presidential decree. ==See also==