Former Expedition 28 and Expedition 41 flight engineer Aleksandr Samokutyaev has died at age 56, becoming the first former ISS crew member to pass away. Samokutyaev flew two long-duration missions to the International Space Station, accumulating significant time in Earth orbit during his career as a Roscosmos cosmonaut.

His first mission in 2011 coincided with the historic final space shuttle visit when Atlantis delivered STS-135 astronauts to the station. During this 164-day flight, Samokutyaev conducted his inaugural spacewalk alongside Sergei Volkov, relocating equipment and installing experiments while witnessing the end of the 30-year shuttle program.

Samokutyaev returned to the ISS in 2014 for a second 167-day mission with Elena Serova and Barry Wilmore, serving as Expedition 41 flight engineer. His second spacewalk in October 2014 with Max Surayev focused on jettisoning equipment and documenting the station's Russian segment. Across both missions, he accumulated 331 days, 11 hours, and 23 minutes in space.

His career spanned critical transitions in space exploration, from the final shuttle missions to modern ISS operations. Samokutyaev's spacewalk total reached 10 hours and one minute, contributing to station maintenance and research during an era of international cooperation in low Earth orbit.