Soyuz 24 launched 1977

Soyuz 24 crew: Viktor Gorbatko, Yuri Glazkov

Soyuz 24, launched February 7, 1977, was the third and final mission to Salyut 5 space station.  Its crew, Commander Viktor Gorbatko and Flight Engineer Yuri Glazkov, reactivated the station after toxic fumes ended the  previous mission, Soyuz 21.  The Soyuz 23 flight attempted to dock with the station a few months earlier but was unable to complete the mission.

Soyuz 24 successfully docked with Salyut 5 the day after launch, but they did not enter the space station until the next day, probably dealing with the toxic fume problem.

On February 23, they started up Soyuz 24 and deactivated the space station and returned  to Earth February 25.

Viktor Gorbatko, Soyuz cosmonaut, born 1934

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.

Gorbatko passed away May 2017.

Soyuz 24 Cosmonaut Yury Glazkov born 1939

Yury Glazkov, born October 2, 1939 in Moscow in the former Soviet Union made one trip to space on board Soyuz 24 in February 1977 to Salyut 5 with fellow cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko.  It was the third and last trip to the space station.  He attained the rank of Major General in the Soviet Air Force and wrote several science-fiction novels.

He passed away December 9, 2008 in Moscow.