Igor Volk, cosmonaut, born 1937

Igor Volk, born April 12, 1937 in the Ukraine, went into space once aboard Soyuz T-12.  He flew as a research cosmonaut on the three man mission to Salyut 7 in July 1984.  He didn't return to space.

He passed away in January 2017.

Soyuz T-12 launched 1984

Soyuz T-12 crew (L-R): Commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Svetlana Saviskaya, Igor Volk

Soyuz T-12, launched July 17, 1984, was the seventh manned mission to Salyut 7.  Its crew was Commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Svetlana Saviskaya and Igor Volk. 

Igor Volk was a test pilot and the Soviets planned for him to be commander of the first Buran flight, but the program never materialized.  It did not go unnoticed by some in the West that a test pilot was occupying a seat usually reserved for researchers or foreign cosmonauts.  At this time, the Buran project was still secret.

The previous November, NASA announced that Kathryn Sullivan would be the first woman to perform a spacewalk, so naturally, the Soviets decided to get there first. They re-assigned crews and added Savitskaya to the rotation and became the first woman to perform a spacewalk.

The crew returned to Earth July 29.