| Ivan Bella | |
|---|---|
| Research Cosmonaut | |
| Nationality | Slovak |
| Born | May 25, 1964 Brezno, Czechoslovakia (present Slovakia) |
| Other occupation | Pilot |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Time in space | 7d 21h 56m |
| Selection | 1998 Cosmonaut Group |
| Missions | Soyuz TM-29 / Soyuz TM-28 |
| Mission insignia | |
Ivan Bella (born 25 May 1964 in Brezno, Czechoslovakia (present Slovakia)) is a Slovak Air Force officer who became the first Slovak citizen to fly in space. He participated in an eight-day joint Russian-French-Slovak mission to the Mir space station in 1999.[1]
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Bella graduated from military school in 1983 and subsequently graduated from Košice Military Academy in 1987. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Slovak Republic Army as a pilot at the 33rd Air Force Base in Malacky, Slovakia.[2]
Bella began training as a Research Cosmonaut on March 25, 1998. He completed his training successfully at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in August of the same year.[1]
Bella launched along with mission commander Viktor Afanasyev and flight engineer Jean-Pierre Haigneré on the Soyuz TM-29 mission on February 20, 1999. TM-29 arrived at Mir on February 22. While on board the station Bella performed various scientific experiments as well as experiments involving the possibility of survival of Japanese Quails during long flights. Bella spent just over a week in space and returned to earth on February 28 aboard Soyuz TM-28 along with fellow crew member Gennady Padalka.[1][2][3]
In 2004, Bella was appointed to serve as a military attaché for Slovakia in Moscow, Russia.[2]