Soyuz 36, launched May 26, 1980, was the eleventh mission to the Salyut 6 space station, and the ninth successful docking. Its crew consisted of Valeri Kubasov and Bertalan Farkas, the first Hungarian cosmonaut.
It landed July 31 with Viktor Gorbatko and Pham Tuan, the first Vietnamese cosmonaut.
Soyuz 37, launched July 23, 1980, was the 13th (11th successful) mission to dock with the Soviet space station Salyut 6. Its crew consisted of Commander Viktor Gorbatko and Flight Engineer Pham Tuan, the first Vietnamese cosmonaut.
They stayed on Salyut 6 approximately eight days later and returned to Earth in the Soyuz 36 spacecraft.
The long-duration crew of Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin returned in Soyuz 37 in October.
Pham Tuan, born February 14, 1947 in Thai Binh, Vietnam, is the first Vietnamese cosmonaut and first Asian in space. His only mission was aboard Soyuz 37 which was launched July 23, 1980 with fellow cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko to Salyut 6.
He returned to Earth on Soyuz 36 July 31 with Gorbatko. It was his only mission into space.
Viktor Gorbatko, born December 3, 1934 in the Black Sea area of the Soviet Union, was a veteran of three Soyuz missions. His first flight was aboard Soyuz 7 in October 1969. Soyuz 7 was to rendezvous with Soyuz 8 but failed to occur due to equipment malfunctions.
His second mission was Soyuz 24 in February 1977. It was the third and final mission to the Salyut 5 space station. Gorbatko and fellow cosmonaut Yuri Glazkov reactivated the station after toxic fumes apparently ended the previous crew's mission.
His third and final flight was on Soyuz 37 July-October 1981 to Salyut 6. This mission made history since Gorbatko's fellow cosmonaut was Pham Tuan, the first Vietnamese and first Asian cosmonaut.
