Cosmonaut Aleksandr Samokutyaev, 56, is first former ISS crew member to die

Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Samokutyaev, who served twice as a crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS), including during the final US space shuttle mission in 2011, has died at the age of 56. With Samokutyaev's death on Wednesday , he becomes the first former ISS long-duration resident to die in the 26 years that the space station has been a home to 155 other cosmonauts and astronauts as expedition crew members. The cause of his death is unknown. Portrait of cosmonaut Aleksandr Samokutyaev. Credit: Roscosmos "The leadership and staff of the Roscosmos State Corporation extend their sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Aleksandr Mikhailovich," officials with Russia's space agency said in a statement . Read full article Comments