Soyuz 33 launched 1979

Soyuz 33 crew: Nikolai Rukavishnikov, Georgi Ivanov

Mission patch

Soyuz 33, launched April 10, 1979, was intended to dock with Salyut 6 but an engine failure forced the mission to be aborted.  Its crew consisted of Nikolai Rukavishnikov and Bulgarian Georgi Ivanov.  They had to abort the mission before they docked with the space station and returned to Earth after almost 2 days in space.

Georgi Ivanov, first Bulgarian in space, born 1940

Georgi Ivanov, born July 2, 1940, is the first Bulgarian cosmonaut.  Born in Lovech, Bulgaria, Ivanov flew on Soyuz 33, launched April 10, 1979 but the mission was a disaster  Engine damage would not allow them to dock with Salyut 6, so they had to return to Earth prematurely.  Their re-entry was also flawed as they had to endure 9Gs.  They completed 31 orbits in just under 2 days.