Mongolian astronaut. Gurragcha zhugderdemidiin

G urragcha Zhugderdemidiin (Gurragcha Sansar)* - pilot-cosmonaut of the Mongolian People's Republic, the first and only cosmonaut of Mongolia and the 101st cosmonaut of the world, cosmonaut-researcher spaceship"Soyuz-39" and a member of the 9th visiting expedition of the Salyut-6 orbital station, captain of the Air Force of the Mongolian People's Army.

Born on December 5, 1947 in the village of Rashant, Gurvan-Bulak somon, Bulgan aimag, Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) in large family shepherd. Mongol. Member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) since 1979. In 1955-1966 he studied at a boarding school, where he received his primary medical education. In 1966 he entered the Agricultural Academy in Ulaanbaatar, but in 1968 he was drafted into the Mongolian People's Army (MNA). He served as a radio operator in the radio engineering troops.

In 1971 he was sent to study in the USSR. In 1972 he graduated from the Military School of Junior Aviation Specialists in the city of Kant (Kyrgyz SSR), in 1977 - from the N.E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. Since 1977, he served as an aviation equipment engineer in a separate MNA aviation squadron.

He was one of four selected finalist candidates from the MPR, sent at the end of January 1978 for examination at the Central Military Research Aviation Hospital in Moscow. In March 1978, by decision of a special commission, he was selected as one of two candidates for space flight under the Interkosmos cooperation program of socialist countries, and in April of the same year he began preparations for the flight at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Passed a full course of training for flights on Soyuz-type spacecraft and orbital station Salyut-6. In October 1978, he was assigned to the first (main) crew of the Soyuz-39 spacecraft (call sign Pamirs).

He made a space flight from March 22 to March 30, 1981 as a cosmonaut-researcher of the Soyuz-39 spacecraft (crew commander V.A. Dzhanibekov) and a member of the 9th visiting expedition of the Salyut-6 orbital station, where crew 5 worked -th main expedition consisting of commander V.V. Kovalyonok and flight engineer V.P. Savinykh. The flight duration was 7 days 20 hours 42 minutes 3 seconds.

By order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 30, 1981, for the successful implementation of international space flight and the courage and heroism shown at the same time to a citizen of the Mongolian People's Republic Gurragche Zhugderdemidiinu awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 11454).

By order of the Presidium of the Great People's Khural of the Mongolian People's Republic dated March 31, 1981 for the successful implementation of space flight and the courage and heroism shown in this Gurragche Zhugderdemidiinu was awarded the title of Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic with the Order of Sukhbaatar and the Gold Star medal.

In subsequent years, he was one of the leaders of the national space program. In 1981-1983 he was deputy head of the administrative department of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. In 1983-1991 he was the head of the Defense Assistance Society. In 2000-2004, Minister of Defense of Mongolia (before his appointment as Minister of Defense, he served as Chief of Staff of the Mongolian Air Defense Forces). Since 2004, President of the Union of Mongolian Societies for Friendship with the CIS countries.

Mongolian cosmonaut J. Gurragchaa: "I am the son of a shepherd"

On this day, several events are traditionally organized in Mongolia: a thematic exhibition at the Peace Palace, a research conference and meetings-receptions of the first Mongolian cosmonaut at different levels, etc.

This year marks the 33rd anniversary of the flight of the hero of Mongolia Zh. Gurragchaa into space, and this year the celebration will be more modest - said the representative of the Peace Palace in Ulaanbaatar, which is headed by the first cosmonaut of the country.

In 1978, by decision of a special commission, Zhugderdemidiin Gurragchaa was selected as one of two candidates from the Mongolian People's Republic for space flight under the Interkosmos cooperation program of socialist countries, and in March of the same year began training for the flight at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

J. Gurragchaa made a space flight from March 22 to March 30, 1981 as a research cosmonaut on the Soyuz-39 spacecraft (crew commander V. A. Dzhanibekov) and the Salyut-6 orbital research complex - Soyuz spacecraft T-4.

After returning from space, J. Gurragchaa was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic.

A month after the flight into space, he gave his first interview to the Soviet magazine Technique-Youth.

- What are the common tasks facing humanity on the verge of systematic development of outer space? How do you see the future of the earth?

- Outer space was mastered systematically from the very beginning, from the launch of the first Soviet satellite in 1957, the first Soviet spacecraft piloted by Yuri Gagarin, the 20th anniversary of whose flight we recently celebrated. At present, the Interkosmos program is being successfully implemented; it is making a significant contribution to the development of science and the national economy of the countries of the socialist community. The launches of spacecraft are already paying off, but in the future, after the creation of orbital factories and power plants, economic effect space flights will increase immeasurably.

I want to say a few kind words about Salyut-6, a glorious predecessor of future orbital settlements. This is not only a hospitable "space house", but also a large scientific laboratory, the equipment of which allows for the most complex research and experiments.



- What was the main impetus in your personal life that prompted you to decide to become an astronaut?

- In 1961, when Yuri Gagarin first went into space, I was still a boy and, of course, did not think that after some two decades I would have to go along the path he had beaten. Of course, as a child, like so many of my peers, I dreamed of becoming a pilot. Life, it would seem, disposed of in its own way: after graduating from the Air Force Engineering Academy in Moscow, I became an engineer - although I acquired an aviation-related, but nevertheless a purely earthly profession. However, when I was informed that there was a recruitment to the cosmonaut corps, I without hesitation submitted a corresponding application. He successfully passed the medical examination and eventually became an astronaut.

I had great happiness and a great honor to be the first representative Mongolian people in space. The main objective reason that I became an astronaut was undoubtedly the desire to serve my socialist homeland. And the main subjective factor is, perhaps, the love for speed and for the knowledge of the unknown, which arose in early childhood.



I am the son of a shepherd and from an early age joined the profession of a cattle breeder. He learned to ride at the age of three or four, and from the age of seven he began to participate in horse races, having mastered the art of riding to perfection. Racing with us, by the way, is not entertainment, but rather hard work. The usual distance is 30 kilometers, and it is not always possible to find a completely flat area of ​​​​such a length in the steppe. You often have to overcome small hills and fords, and the average speed is 30-40 kilometers per hour, and immediately after the start, while the horses are still cheerful, it reaches 70-80 km / h. So I'm already school age fell in love with fast driving, the rapid conquest of distances. He was also very fond of "hunting for clouds" - chasing the shadow of autumn clouds. If the wind is strong above, then the shadow glides very quickly across the steppe, and you chase it on a horse, competing in speed with the wind. The feeling is extraordinary! But my father was sometimes dissatisfied - after all, in such a race you can drive a horse and bruise your own forehead.

In general, all the boys in Mongolia love speed. In winter, they go down the hills on homemade sleds, homemade skis, and spend the whole weekend like this. And what a joy it is to skate! In the summer, without exception, everyone launches kites. It is quite possible that it was these simple devices that aroused my first interest in flying, which later turned into a love of aviation.

- What new, previously unknown phenomena did you encounter during the flight? Is it possible to speak seriously about a possible meeting of astronauts with aliens?

- We have long and diligently prepared for a meeting with everything that could expect us in orbit. Even weightlessness was reproduced in special aircraft-laboratories. In the conditions of a short-term flight along a parabola, we were taught to coordinate our movements, control our body. As a result, I quite normally perceived real orbital weightlessness, no preventive measures were needed. And a great merit in this is the Soviet doctors and instructors, to whom I am sincerely grateful.
Rumor has it that some "flying saucers" have been seen in the sky. I never believed in them, but this does not mean that I have a negative approach to the question of the existence of aliens. It cannot be ruled out that somewhere in space, very far from us, intelligent beings similar to people live. Or, conversely, completely dissimilar. But so far, we have no scientific evidence to support or refute this assumption.

- How, in your opinion, would the pace of space exploration change if the funds currently spent on armaments were directed to peaceful purposes?

- The arms race, fomented by imperialist circles, absorbs a lot of funds. Including in the states of the socialist community, which are obliged to take care of their defense. If these funds could be directed to the peaceful development of near-Earth space, cosmonautics would give a much greater practical output than it does now, and the national economy of the socialist camp would develop even more rapidly. Our planet is often compared to a spaceship. From above, from orbit, one can clearly see how fair this comparison is. And how beautiful the Earth is. And I would like to appeal to all people with a call - to take care of the preservation of our planet, to do everything to pass it on to the descendants of a flourishing and peaceful one.

- How, in your opinion, will the process of space exploration differ from the settlement of new lands on our planet in the past?

- The development of new lands in the past did not bring much trouble: settlers came, rebuilt, cultivated the soil, bred domestic animals, planted agricultural plants. And in space there are no ready-made lands, there you have to start everything from scratch. The prototype of a small space settlement is the Salyut-6 station. Some live there for a long time, others fly "on a visit" - in a word, everything goes on as usual. The size of the orbital stations will gradually increase until they turn into autonomous "heavenly towns" with their own plants, factories, metallurgical plants, solar power plants.

On a walk in Star City. J. Gurragcha, his wife Batmunkh and son Batbayar with their Russian comrade Yura.

- Could you tell us about the funniest and funniest episode that happened to you during flights or during the preparation for them?

- Surprising as it may seem, sometimes objects disappear in orbit. Although, it would seem, they simply have nowhere to go. During one of the experiments, I had to keep various records. During breaks in work, the writing pen was supposed to slip under a special rubber band next to the workplace so that it does not fly away. While I was working, they filmed me with a movie camera, everyone was looking at me. Having written down the next series of data, I carefully fixed the pen with an elastic band and looked out the window. Nothing much happened overboard, and I returned to my interrupted studies. He reached for the handle, but it wasn't there. As I said, everyone was watching me, but no one noticed where she had gone. So it was not found.

On another occasion, the commander of the orbital complex, V. Kovalyonok, lost his watch and even promised to officially declare gratitude to whoever finds it. But even that didn't help. Such mysterious disappearances in orbit happen quite regularly. There was one funny episode after returning to Earth. We are going to a press conference: V. Dzhanibekov, me and our understudies - V. Lyakhov and M. Ganzorig. Suddenly, halfway from Zvezdny, my commander asks in puzzlement: “Brothers, where are we going, in fact?” This simple question has stumped everyone. It turned out that none of us asked where the press conference would be held. They only knew that in Moscow, at 11 o'clock. But Moscow, it's big... We felt very uncomfortable. Well, Lyakhov, well done, was found. “Turn on,” he says, “Mayak,” they will inform at its best". And indeed, the announcer immediately announces that, they say, in half an hour a press conference for Soviet and foreign journalists will begin in the press center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We rushed there, it's good that we were in time.



Reference

The first Mongolian cosmonaut Zh. Gurragcha was born on December 5, 1947 in the family of a large arat. high school graduated in the city of Bulgan. In 1968 he was drafted into the Mongolian People's Army, where he served as a radio operator. In 1971, Gurragcha was sent to Soviet Union to the military aviation school of junior specialists. In 1977 he graduated from the Air Force Engineering Academy. N. E. Zhukovsky. From April 1978, Gurragcha took a full course of training for space flights at the Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. He made his first space flight in March 1981 on the Soyuz-39 spacecraft together with Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov.

He was born into a large family of a Mongolian shepherd in socialist Mongolia, where there were ten children. Gains of socialism in the native country, sincere friendship and support Soviet people helped Gurragcha pave his path into space. He will always remain a friend of our country, because he knows that internationalism and socialism are inseparable things.

The first Mongolian cosmonaut Gurragcha at the head of the delegation spent several days in Altai. (The Mongolian delegation arrived in Altai on September 10) Along with him came his backup cosmonaut Ganzorig, Mongolian artists and artists. Gurragcha answered the questions of the newspaper "Voice of Labor".

- The first editor of our newspaper was Viktor Sapov, who worked in Mongolia for four years as a correspondent for the Pravda newspaper. Surely you have met him?

Yes, I remember Viktor Grigoryevich well. He used to visit me. The first time, I remember, it was in winter. Our winters are as cold as in Siberia, but our communication was always very warm. I met him many times.

- It's no secret that last years between Russia and Mongolia there were no longer such close relations as before. And how do the Mongols remember the past years?

Of course, before everywhere you could meet a Russian person in Mongolia - a doctor, a builder or a military man. But whoever he was, the Mongols always knew that they were meeting a friend. Our friendship was tested and exactly 70 years ago, when the Mongolian tsiriki and soviet soldiers fought side by side against a common enemy. Therefore, in the program of our visit to Altai, one of the main points was the opening of an exhibition of paintings dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the victory at Khalkhin Gol. The artist Fyodor Semenovich Torkhov maintained real human contacts between Altai and Mongolia for many years. Back in 2000, he opened a personal art gallery of 50 of his paintings in our city of Ulgia. No borders are visible on Earth from space. My Mongolia was easy to find, orienting along Baikal. It is bad that now, having such a large common border, politicians have made it so difficult for ordinary people to visit and maintain old friendships - nayramdal.

- I read that you now have a different surname? ...

Yes, Samsar, this word means "Cosmos". Until recently, we did not have surnames. Gurragcha is a name, and Zhugderdemidiin is not a surname, but a generic name. In 1996, as part of the program to restore family names, I took the word "Samsar" as my new family name.

- Remember the day when the first space flight was?

In 1961, when Yuri Gagarin first went into space, I was still a boy and, of course, I had no idea that two decades later I would be lucky enough to walk along the road he paved. As a child, like so many of my peers, I dreamed of becoming a pilot. But, when he studied at a boarding school, he received an initial medical education, and then entered the Agricultural Academy in Ulaanbaatar, from where he was drafted into the army. And then a childhood dream gradually began to come true: after graduating from the Air Force Engineering Academy in Moscow, I became an engineer, acquired a profession, although related to aviation, but, nevertheless, a purely earthly profession. However, when I was informed that there was a recruitment to the cosmonaut corps, I applied without hesitation. He successfully passed the medical examination and, in the end, became an astronaut. I had great happiness and a very great honor to be the first representative of the Mongolian people in space. The main objective reason that I became an astronaut was undoubtedly the desire to serve my socialist homeland. And the main subjective factor is, perhaps, the love for speed and for the knowledge of the unknown, which arose in childhood. I am the son of a shepherd and from an early age joined the profession of a cattle breeder. He learned to ride at the age of three or four, and from the age of seven he began to participate in horse races, having mastered the art of riding. Racing with us, by the way, is not entertainment, but rather hard work. The usual distance is 30 kilometers, and it is not always possible to find a completely flat area of ​​​​such a length in the steppe. You have to overcome small hills and fords, and the average speed is 30-40 kilometers per hour, and immediately after the start, while the horses are still cheerful, it reaches 70-80. So I have loved fast driving since school age. In general, all the boys in Mongolia love speed. In winter, they go down the hills on homemade sleds, homemade skis, and spend the whole weekend like this. And what a joy it is to skate! In the summer, everyone, without exception, fly kites. It is quite possible that it was these simple devices that aroused my first interest in flying, which later turned into a love of aviation.

- Returning to the anniversary celebrations of this year ... Two well-known participants in the events at Khalkhin Gol grew up in Altai: the head of the political department under Commander Zhukov was Mikhail Semenovich NIKISHOV, and the pilot Mikhail Fedorovich BURMISTROV became a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union. How is the memory of that distant war kept in Mongolia?

Mikhail Semenovich is depicted in numerous photographs of 1939 along with Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. These photographs are in the only museum of Marshal Zhukov abroad - in Ulaanbaatar. I am a pilot and therefore, of course, I know the name of the Hero Pilot Major Burmistrov. As Konstantin Simonov wrote, in the high Mongolian sky then in 1939, so many planes fought at once that he had never seen such a formidable sight again!

- You worked in the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party...

Yes, I was deputy head of the administrative department of the Central Committee. For four years he was the Minister of Defense of Mongolia, a deputy of the MPRP in the Great Khural, and now he has been retired for five years. Now I head the Union of Friendship Societies, where the Society for Friendship with Russia, of course, plays a leading role. I knew your countryman German Titov well. I have long wanted to visit his small homeland, which is so close to Mongolia.

Here he is, the first cosmonaut of Mongolia, easy to communicate, loving and knowing the Russian language, in leather jacket something reminiscent of our Vasily Shukshin. Communication with him showed that it was not officials who constantly talk about the "Greater Altai" at their numerous meetings, but other people - like cosmonaut Gurracha and artist member of the regional committee of the Communist Party Fyodor Torkhov - all these years for real, and not in words, their friendship supported the thread of old ties between our neighboring countries that had become almost imperceptible. People in Mongolia and Russia will never forget that they were bound by socialist internationalism, and not some abstract "partnership"! The notorious new "partnership" did not help during the years of "reforms" to resume the supply of Mongolian meat to the Biysk meat processing plant.

Evgeny Platunov

Reference.

Zhugderdemidiin Gurragcha (Sansar) was born on December 5, 1947 in the village of Rashant, Gurvan-Bulak somon (district) of Bulgan aimag, Mongolia. In March 1978, he was selected as one of two Mongolian cosmonaut candidates under the Intercosmos program. Started training at the TsPK im. Yu.A. Gagarin in April 1978 and in October of the same year was appointed to the first (main) crew of the Soyuz-39 spacecraft (call sign - Pamirs). From March 22 to March 30, 1981, as a research cosmonaut on the Soyuz-39 spacecraft and the Salyut-6 orbital station, together with Vladimir Dzhanibekov. The flight duration was 7 days 20 hours 42 minutes 03 seconds. Gurragcha - Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 30, 1981), Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic, holder of the Order of Sukhe Bator (Decree of the Presidium of the Great People's Khural of the MPR of March 30, 1981). J. Gurragch's flight became possible only thanks to the Interkosmos program, which united the socialist countries. The fate of both cosmonauts from Mongolia (primary and backup) turned out well. Gurragcha became the minister of defense, a member of parliament, and his understudy heads the Institute of Informatics and Remote Sensing of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. This could be the envy of many cosmonauts from former socialist countries, for example, the cosmonaut from the GDR Sigmund Jahn now works as a ... taxi driver!

In the photographs: Honored Artist of Russia, Honored Worker of Culture of Mongolia Fyodor TORKHOV and Mongolian cosmonaut Zhugderdemidiin GURRAGCHA.

At 5:59 pm Moscow time, the Soyuz-39 spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome with an international crew on board, consisting of the commander of the ship Hero of the Soviet Union, USSR pilot-cosmonaut, Colonel Vladimir Dzhanibekov and cosmonaut-researcher, aviation engineer equipment, a citizen of Mongolia, Captain Zhugderdemidiyn Gurragchi.

The purpose of the launch of the spacecraft was to dock with the Salyut-6-Soyuz-T-4 orbital complex and carry out scientific and technical research and experiments on board together with cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalenko and Viktor Savinykh.

Mongolia became the tenth country in the world whose citizen made a space flight, and Zhugderdemidiin Gurragcha became the first and so far the only citizen of Mongolia to have been in space.

As part of the program to restore tribal (clan) surnames, Gurragcha (Gurragcha is a name, Zhugderdemidiin is a generic name) took the word "Samsar" (cosmos) as a new generic surname.

The astronaut has two sons, the name of the youngest is Otbayar (born in 1982). It is translated from Mongolian into Russian as "star holiday".

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Hello dear.
We continue the conversation we started here:
So...
The next cosmonaut participated in the Soyuz-39 crew and was a citizen of Mongolia. His name was Jugderdemidiin Gurragcha. The ship's commander was Vladimir Dzhanibekov.
The future astronaut was born in a family of cattle breeders and he had 9 brothers and sisters. Nothing foretold him such a brilliant career. He studied, served, first got into communications, then into aviation. I flew. However, in March 1978, by decision of a special commission Jugderdemidiin Gurragcha and another Mongolian pilot Maidarzhavyn Ganzorig, which later became his understudy, were selected from the Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) for a space flight under the Interkosmos cooperation program of the socialist countries.

Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Zhugderdemidiin Gurragcha.

In April 1978, they began training at the Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, where they completed a full training course for flights on spacecraft of the Soyuz type and the Salyut-6 orbital station. The launch was on March 22, 1981, and the flight lasted 7 days 20 hours.
After the flight, Guragcha made a brilliant career in his homeland, becoming the Minister of Defense in 2000. He is still extremely popular in his homeland, being one of the most famous people throughout the history of Mongolia. He changed his family name (surname) to Samsar (cosmos) and now it is more correct to call him Jugderdemidiin Gurragcha Sansar. Among his current hobbies is the development of Russian hockey (bandy) in Mongolia. By the way, the fate of his understudy turned out well. Maydarzhavyn Ganzorig heads one of the institutes of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences.

Mongolian cosmonaut and his stunt double

Socialist Romania has always kept itself apart, and its leader, Nicolae Ceausescu, tried to stick to his own policies, keeping as far as possible from the wake of Moscow. This was not always liked, and in the space program the Soviet Union carried out a small "revenge" when the representative of the SRR had to fly last among the representatives of the social camp. However, no matter how it was, on May 14, 1981, the Soyuz-40 spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with a crew consisting of the ship commander Leonida Popova and a citizen of Romania Dumitru Dorin Prunariu, which is the first and possibly sole cosmonaut their homeland in history.

Moldavian stamp depicting the first Romanian cosmonaut.

A serious scientist, engineer Prunariu was a military man insofar as he was drafted into the army and received an army rank only before enrolling in the cosmonaut corps.
Nevertheless, in 2000 he was promoted to the rank of Major General of the Air Force.
During the flight, which lasted 7 days, he was engaged in scientific experiments, primarily related to the study of the Earth's magnetic field.
After landing, he was engaged in science, taught and studied. For about a year he was the Ambassador of Romania to Russian Federation. Currently in business - in June 2010 he was appointed chairman of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. In addition, since 2007 he has been the head of the Romanian Delegation to the European Union in Brussels. It remains only to add that Prunariu's understudy was Dumitru (Mitiche) Dediu.

D.D. Prunariu today

The next space conqueror is unique from every point of view. Judge for yourself: He is the first participant in the Interkosmos program, who represented not a socialist, but a capitalist country. He is the first foreigner to make 2 flights on Soviet manned spacecraft, the first foreigner to visit both space stations(Salyut-7 and Mir), the first foreign cosmonaut trained under the Buran-Energy program, became the first non-USSR and US citizen to go into outer space. This person's name is Jean-Loup Jacques Marie Chretien and he is a French citizen. Among other things, he became the first Frenchman in space.
In total, Chrétien has 3 space flights.

Cosmonaut and astronaut J.-L. Chrétien

The first one started on June 24, 1982. The Soyuz T-6 spacecraft launched into orbit a crew of Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Alexander Ivanchenkov and Chretien. The flight duration was 7 days, 21 hours. Chrétien's understudy was Patrick Pierre Roger Baudry.
The second flight began on November 26, 1988. The ship was called Soyuz TM-7. Crew:
Alexander Volkov, Sergey Krikalev, Jean-Loup Chretien. The launch was attended by the President of the Republic François Mitterrand and the Pink Floyd musicians, whose live album Delicate Sound of Thunder was taken on board by the Soviet cosmonauts, this album was the first rock album to be played in space.

Crew of Soyuz T-6 V. Dzhanibekov, A. Ivanchenkov, J.-L. Chretien

Well, for the third time he flew on September 26 to October 6, 1997 on the shuttle Atlantis
Unfortunately, as a result of an accident in 2001, he was forced to leave his space career.
Now he is actively involved in business and sports, he is the vice president of several large companies.

11 foreign astronauts launched into low-Earth orbit became an Indian test pilot Major Air Force Rakesh Sharma. He went through a tedious selection, where he outperformed 239 candidates.
The flight itself was carried out with the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft. Crew: Yuri Malyshev(commander), Gennady Strekalov, Rakesh Sharma.
Launch: April 3, 1984
Landing: April 11, 1984 (on the Soyuz T-10 ")

Soviet-Indian crew

According to legend, during his stay at the Mir station, an Indian cosmonaut had a communication session with the country's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. When asked by Gandhi about what India looks like from space, Sharma replied with a line from a patriotic poem: "The best in the world." Understudy for the flight was Ravish Malhotra.
It should also be noted that this Soviet-Indian crew had a beautiful and interesting emblem - the state flags of the USSR and India and the three-eyed Surya - the god of the sun, rushing through the clouds on a golden chariot. The mythological god symbolizes the desire of people to fly to the endless expanses, to the stars.

The emblem of the flight "Soyuz T-11"

After the flight, Sharma was received with great fanfare in India, but continued to pursue aviation as a test pilot. Personally participated in the development and testing of a light interceptor for the Indian Air Force. He is still actively cooperating with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which is gradually preparing its own space explorer. Among the Indians, he will be called a viomanaut (vyomanaut). The term "vyoma" (vyoma) in Sanskrit means "sky".
Sharma is one of 52 people awarded the country's highest military order, the Ashoka Chakra.

Soviet-Syrian crew Soyuz TM-3

Few people now remember, but a citizen of now long-suffering Syria also visited space. Colonel Muhammad Ahmed Faris From July 22 to July 30, 1987 he made a space flight on the Soyuz TM-3 spacecraft. In addition to him, the crew included Alexander Viktorenko(captain) and Alexander Alexandrov.
Unfortunately, I could not find information about what the only Syrian cosmonaut is currently doing. At the beginning of the 2000s, he headed the aviation school in Alepo, where he lived with his family. He named his youngest son Mir, in honor of our orbital station. Let's hope that Muhammad is all right and the civil war did not affect his family and his home.

Pilot-cosmonaut Mohammed Ahmed Faris

Remember, when we talked about the 4th space flight within the framework of the Interkosmos program, we mentioned that the Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgy Ivanov(Kakkalov) was chosen only at the last moment, due to the fact that his understudy Alexandra (Alexandra) Alexandrova having some health problems? Well, Alexandrov was still able to break into space, albeit after the second attempt, but he made a space flight. Thus, the People's Republic of Bulgaria became the only country within the framework of Interkosmos that was able to send 2 of its representatives into near-Earth orbit at once.

Savinykh-Soloviev-Alexandrov

The flight became possible after the implementation of the Soviet-Bulgarian program of scientific research "Shipka" and the Bulgarian side had to fork out as it should.
The flight itself took place from June 7 to 17, 1988 on the Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft (landing on the Soyuz TM-4 spacecraft)
Crew:
Anatoly Solovyov
Vladimir Savinykh
Alexander Alexandrov
During the flights, 59 different experiments were carried out, the photographs needed by Bulgaria were taken.
At the end of the flight, Aleksandrov worked at the Academy of Sciences, and then went into business. Now he lives in Sofia, he was able to defend his doctoral dissertation. His business is related to air transportation. Alexandrov's hobby was golf, to which he devotes a lot of his energy and resources.
Interestingly, among the candidates for space flight was also his brother Plamen, but did not pass in terms of health. Alexandrov's understudy was Krasimir Stoyanov.

Second Bulgarian cosmonaut A. Aleksandrov

Well, the last foreign cosmonaut before the closure of the Intercosmos program was the captain of the Afghan Air Force Abdul Ahad Mohmand. The program for the flight of an Afghan cosmonaut to the Mir station, called Shamshad, was prepared with the participation of representatives of Afghanistan. This flight, as you understand, was connected exclusively with the actions of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan, but this in no way infringes on the merit and courage of Mohmand.

astronaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand

Actually, another one was supposed to fly - Muhammad Dauran. But he either had the principle of appendicitis, or they took into account that he was an ethnic Tajik. Therefore, the Pashtun Mohmand had to fly.
The flight took place on the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft.
Crew: Vladimir Lyakhov(captain), Valery Polyakov, Abdul Ahad Mohmand.
The launch was made on August 29, 1988. Landing (on Soyuz TM-5) on September 7, 1988. The landing took place randomly. In connection with the failure of sensors to start the engines, the astronauts almost died. And it was the Afghan who saved their action. He, violating the instructions of the Flight Control Center, personally checked the instruments and pointed out the error to Commander Lyakhov. Everything was decided in one minute. The ship's commander took his bearings and aborted the landing program. As a result, both had to sit in a cramped descent vehicle for more than a day, but in the end it all ended well.

V. Lyakhova and A.A. Mohmand is greeted by the people of Kabul.

The fate of Abdul Ahmad was the most difficult. Upon returning home, he became Deputy Minister civil aviation Republic of Afghanistan, but after the Taliban came to power, he fled the country and asked for political asylum in Germany. Where he now lives with his family. Muhammad has 2 daughters (one of whom was born in Star City) and a small company that has nothing to do with aviation or space.
The fate of his partner and understudy, Muhammad Dauran, was more successful. He rose to the rank of Colonel General and was for some time the commander of the Air Force and Air Defense of Afghanistan.
So the Interkosmos program lasted a little over 10 years (1978-1988). During this time, 14 foreign cosmonauts from 13 countries have been in orbit. The oldest of them is Sigmund Yen, who was 41 years old at the time of the flight, the youngest is 28-year-old Prunariu. Georgy Ivanov spent the least time in space, and Abdul Ahad Momandu had to spend the most.
Health and prosperity to the hero of yesterday!
Have a nice time of the day.