President of Turkmenistan Congratulates Cosmonaut Kononenko on His Birthday

President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov has extended birthday greetings to test cosmonaut and Hero of Turkmenistan Oleg Kononenko, TDH reports. “Taking this pleasant opportunity, the President of Turkmenistan conveyed his heartfelt wishes to Oleg Kononenko for strong health, longevity, happiness, family well-being, and continued success in his work in space exploration,” the message said. Kononenko currently serves as Deputy Head of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center and Commander of the Cosmonaut Corps. He holds the world record for the longest cumulative time spent in space — the first person in history to surpass 1,000 days. His total time in orbit now stands at 1,111 days. In 2019, Kononenko was awarded the title of Hero of Turkmenistan. He was born on June 21, 1964, in the city of Chardzhou (now Turkmenabat), Turkmen SSR.