The Russian word for "cheese" is "syr," and Syromyatnikov laughingly refers to himself as the "Big Cheese," although he is actually fairly small in stature. I asked the "Cheese" how his university training had prepared him for his space career. Because his formal education had readied him for an engineering specialty he would never use, Syromyatnikov explains that he became something of a perpetual student. "My education has never stopped," he says. Quickly adding it up in his mind, he estimates: "In my life it's been about 25 years, all my official studying."

That includes early school, university, English language classes, plus two theses, one for a candidate degree (in 1968) and one for a doctorate (in 1979). For those degrees, Syromyatnikov points out, "I met the full requirements, not like the bigwigs," referring to the frequent Soviet practice of granting team managers the same degrees earned by their teams just for adding their names to the published papers.

PHOTO: ALEXANDER GRONSKY/AGENCY.PHOTOGRAPHER.RU

Dock Worker: For nearly 40 years, manned spacecraft have relied on Russian engineer Vladimir Syromyatnikov's mechanisms to link up in space safely.

These days he is studying less, but he remains busy as a full-time employee of Energia. "I am still responsible for all docking systems," he says, including those on Soyuz spacecraft, the ISS (the space shuttle also uses a version of his design), the European-built robot supply ship planned for launch next year, and a replacement vehicle for the aging Soyuz design.

He is also the general director of a future-oriented group called the Space Regatta Consortium. Organized to develop solar sails for an international robot race to the moon, the consortium now develops nontraditional hardware for space vehicles, such as inflatable solar collectors, which are intended to improve on rigid photovoltaic panels, and electrodynamic tethers that may help satellites and space stations maintain their orbits. Last year Syromyatnikov published the English-language version of the first volume of his autobiography, 100 Stories About Docking (Universitetskaya Kniga, Moscow).

Although the content of each workday may vary, his work patterns are fairly consistent. "I start my work early in the morning, usually at 5 o'clock, sometimes 4 o'clock," he says, "I do things like my book—I worked on it nine years—plus I've written a professional book on docking systems and edited a book on flight safety. I've also translated and edited some books from English.

"It's very early to bed and very early to rise," he continues. "Every morning I do my physical exercises for 20 minutes to a half hour—and I work all weekends."

One of Syromyatnikov's favorite slogans is, "The best rest is to work until lunchtime." He explains: "So then you feel the day was not lost—and in the hours that are left you can do different activities, less critical tasks."

Syromyatnikov still considers himself first and foremost a designer. "I understand how to design," he says. "You should feel, maybe by intuition, what lies ahead in the process, what should be done, not just design alone, not just the original sketches, but the whole thing."

He says he's different from most specialized Russian aerospace engineers. "I differ a lot, because I did not stop with the conceptual design. I proceeded to the development and testing, the total design," he says.

It's the same approach Syromyatnikov urges on students. "You may be designers, you may be operators," he tells them, but you'll be better if you also understand the other steps.

"I advise young people to try to do some small thing from scratch, take it through all phases of engineering activities," he explains. "Then you'll be a much better operator, a much better controller, a much better engineer. I am convinced of this myself, and I try to convince young people to do it."

It's not just retrospection, either. His desk, he says, is covered with plans for a wide variety of new space hardware, and he is still following through on his most recent designs.