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. 

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 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?