Leonid Kostyantynovych Kadenyuk was the first astronaut of independent Ukraine who flew into outer space. He flew on NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as part of the international mission STS-87. Kadenyuk held the rank of Major general in the Ukrainian Air Force. He was Deputy of Ukraine of the 4th convocation, People's Ambassador of Ukraine, Hero of Ukraine, President of the Aerospace Society of Ukraine, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ukraine and Chairman of the State Space Agency of Ukraine, Honorary Doctor of Chernivtsi National University.