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Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov (Russian
language|Russian:
Констан&
#1090;ин
Петрови&
#1095;
Феоктис&
#1090;ов; born February 7, 1926 in
Voronezh) was a astronaut|cosmonaut and space
engineer.

Feoktistov served in the Soviet Union|Soviet army
in World War II and narrowly avoided death after
being captured by the Germany|Germans. Commanded
to stand at the edge of a pit, he was to be
executed by firing squad along with other
prisoners. However, the bullet only grazed his
throat, and Feoktistov was later able to crawl out
of the pit of corpses and make his way to Soviet
lines.

He graduated from the Moscow State Technical
University|Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School
as an engineer, and would later finish a doctorate
in physics. He joined Mikhail Tikhonravov's OKB
(design bureau), and in 1955 formed part of the
team that would go on to design the Sputnik,
Vostok programme|Vostok, Voskhod, and Soyuz
spacecraft|Soyuz spacecraft under the leadership
of Sergey Korolev. During this time, Feoktistov
also worked on a design for an ion powered
spacecraft capable of taking humans to Mars
(planet)|Mars.

In 1964 Feoktistov was selected as part of a group
of engineers for astronaut|cosmonaut training, and
was eventually assigned to the multi-disciplinary
Voskhod 1 crew. His training for further manned
space mission|space missions was cancelled for
medical reasons.

Feoktistov continued his space engineering work
though, and later became head of the Soviet space
design bureau that designed the Salyut and Mir
space stations. He is presently (2003) deputy head
of the mission control centre at Baikonur.