Alexander Viktorenko, Longtime Russian Cosmonaut, Dies at 76

p> Russian cosmonaut Alexander Viktorenko, who flew to the Mir space station four times, died on Thursday at the age of 76.

The Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City confirmed Viktorenko's death in a statement released on Thursday. "The whole life of Alexander Stepanovich was devoted to astronautics. He made an invaluable contribution to the history of space exploration," the statement read.

Viktorenko was born in 1946 in Ukraine. He joined the Soviet Air Force in 1967 and was selected to be a cosmonaut in 1976. He made his first spaceflight in 1980, when he spent 75 days on board the Salyut 6 space station.

Viktorenko flew to Mir four times, spending a total of 366 days in space. He was the first person to test a "space motorcycle" on Mir, and he also commanded the first launch of a Soyuz spacecraft after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Viktorenko retired from the Russian space program in 1999. He is survived by his wife and two children.

A memorial service and funeral will be held for Viktorenko on August 12.

[Image of Alexander Viktorenko]

[Link to Wikipedia article on Alexander Viktorenko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Viktorenko)