Cosmonaut Georgy Grechko born 1931

Georgi Grechko, born May 25, 1931 in Leningrad in the Soviet Union, has been in space three times.

His first mission was aboard Soyuz 17 in 1975 to the space station Salyut 4.  He stayed on Salyut 4 for 29 days, setting a record for that time.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz 26 to the space station Salyut 6 in December 1977. He participated in the first long duration expedition, EO-1.  He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz 27 in March 1978.

His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz T-14 to Salyut 7 in September 1985.  He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz T-13 later the same month.

He passed away in April 2017. 

Soyuz 18 launched 1975

Soyuz 18a crew: Vasily Lazarev, Oleg Makarov

Soyuz 18a, launched and landed April 5, 1975 to Salyut 4, lasted only 21 minutes.  Its crew consisted of Commander Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Makarov.   The spacecraft exceeded an altitude of 100 km, which is the threshold for a sub-orbital flight.

About 90 miles up, when the second and third stages of the booster separate, only three of the six locks released.  The third stage ignited with the second stage still attached.  The thrust broke the remaining locks but caused the spacecraft deviating from its proper trajectory.  An automatic abort program activated.  Because the capsule was already pointed downward, the cosmonauts experienced a significant acceleration, beyond what was expected.  They experienced up to 21.3 g.  Fortunately, the parachutes opened properly and slowed their descent to a safe landing, 21 minutes after lift-off.

Aleksei Gubarev, cosmonaut, born 1931

Aleksei Gubarev, born March 29, 1931 in the former Soviet Union, went into space twice.

His first trip was aboard Soyuz 17 as commander to the Salyut 4 space station, launched in January 1975.  It was the first of two long-term stays aboard the station.  He returned to Earth in February 1975 after over 29 days.

His second and final flight was aboard Soyuz 28 to Salyut 6 in March 1978, where he participated in expedition EP-2.  He returned to Earth after almost 8 days in space.

He passed away in February 2015. 

Soyuz 20 launched 1975

Soyuz 20, an unmanned spacecraft launched by the Soviet Space Program, launched November 17, 1975.  It docked with the Salyut 4 space station.  It carried a biological payload in which living organisms were exposed to three months in space.  

It returned to Earth February 1976. 

Cosmonaut Vitaly Sevastyanov born 1935

Vitaly Sevastyanov, born July 8, 1935 in the former Soviet Union, was a veteran of two Soyuz missions.

His first flight into space was aboard Soyuz 9 as flight engineer in June 1970.  His almost 18 day mission with fellow cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev paved the way for future Salyut missions.

His second and final trip into space was aboard Soyuz 18 as flight engineer to Salyut 4 with fellow cosmonaut Pyotr Kilmuk.  They were the second and final crew aboard the space station.

He passed away in April 2010 in Moscow, Russia.

Cosmonaut Oleg Makarov born 1933

Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, born January 6, 1933 in the former Soviet Union, was a veteran of four trips into space. 

His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz 12 in September 1973.  After the tragedy of Soyuz 11, the Soviets reduced crew capacity of the capsule to two (from three) to allow pressure suits to be worn during take off, re-entry and landing.  Makarov and fellow cosmonaut Vasily Lazarev spent two days testing the new suits.

His second mission was the unsuccessful launch of Soyuz 18a in April 1975.  The mission was scheduled to dock with Salyut 4 space station, but the crew failed to make orbit, due to the failure of the launch vehicle.

His third attempt was successful.  He flew as flight engineer for Soyuz 27, which docked with Salyut 6 space station in January 1978.  Makarov and cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov made up the crew of expedition EP-1.  They spent five days aboard the space station and returned in Soyuz 26.

Makarov's fourth and final flight was aboard Soyuz T-3 November-December 1980 as flight engineer.  The mission flew to the Salyut 6 space station and was the first Soyuz spacecraft to carry three cosmonauts since Soyuz 11 in 1971.

He died May 2003 in Moscow from a heart attack.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Pyotr Klimuk!

Pyotr Ilyich Klimuk, born July 10, 1942, is a veteran of three Soyuz space flights and the first Belarusian travel in space.

His first flight was aboard Soyuz 13 as commander in December 1973.  It was the Soviet Union's first mission dedicated to science mission.

His second flight was as Commander on Soyuz 18 to the space station Salyut 4 May-June 1975.  The environmental conditions on Salyut 4 began to deteriorate and Klimuk was only able to take a 10-minute walk two days after he landed.  It took him a full week before he completely recovered.

Klimuk's third and final fight was commander of Soyuz 30 June-July 1978 to Salyut 6.

Soyuz 18 launched 1975

Soyuz 18 crew

Mission patch

Soyuz 18, launched May 24, 1975, was the second and last mission to Salyut 4.  Its crew, Commander Pyotr Klimuk and Flight Engineer Vitali Sevastyanov, set a record of 63 days in space.  It was also the second time seven people were in space (7) simultaneously.

Soyuz 18 mission took place during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, hence all the people in space.  The crew were controlled from an Crimean Control Center, not used since Soyuz 12.

By the end of the mission, the environment aboard the station was deteriorating, windows fogging over and green mold growing on the walls.

Soyuz 17 launched 1975

Soyuz 17 crew: Grechko, Gubarev

Soyuz 17, mission to Salyut 4, was launched January 10, 1975.  Its crew was Commander Aleksei Gubarev and Flight Engineer Georgi Grechko.  It was the first crew to enter the space station since it was launched less than a month before, December 26, 1974.

Gubarev and Grechko stayed on board for 29 days which was a record at that time.  They returned to Earth February 9 during a snowstorm with winds of 72 km/h.

Salyut 4 launched 1974

The Soviet space station Salyut 4, launched December 26, 1974, was the first unmanned portion of the experiment.  It successfully achieved orbit after its "twin" DOS-3 failed in May 1973.

Salyut 4 hosted 2 crews, Soyuz 17 and Soyuz 18, during its mission.  The crew of Soyuz 18a had to abort since they failed to achieve orbit.  The first crew, Georgi Grechko and Aleksei Gubarev, stayed for about 29 1/2 days.  The second crew, Pyotr Klimuk and Vitali Svastyanov, stayed for about 63 days.

Salyut 4 was "deorbited" February 2, 1977 and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere the following day.  Do you remember the hype over it burning up in the atmosphere like Skylab in '79? No?