February 20 is one of the most space-related days of the year since three cosmonauts celebrate their birthdays on this date: Alexander Aleksandrov, Vasiliy Tsibliyev and Anton Shkaplerov.
Double hero of Soviet Union Alexander Alexandrov performed 2 flights for the period of his space career: in 1983 and 1987.
Hero of Russia Vasiliy Tsibliyev took part in two spaceflights, lasting in total 381 days and 15 hours. In the course of the flights the cosmonaut spent 19 hours and 14 minutes in the open space.
This year Anton Shkaplerov will celebrate his birthday onboard the ISS.
In 2003 he was enlisted to the cosmonaut corps, in July 2015 was qualified as research cosmonaut.
Since April 2011 he has been passing trainings as of ISS-29/30 crew commander and ISS flight engineer.
His first flight started on November 14, 2011. Along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and NASA astronaut Daniel Burbank. During 165-days flight Anton Shkaplerov performed a spacewalk lasting 6 hours and 15 minutes and returned to the Earth on April 27, 2012. After the flight he was awarded Hero of Russian Federation.
