Happy birthday, cosmonaut Leonid Popov!

Leonid Popov, born August 31, 1945 in the Ukraine in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of three Soyuz flights.  Selected as a cosmonaut in 1970, he flew his first mission on Soyuz 35 as commander in June 1980 to Salyut 6.  He returned to Earth on Soyuz 37 in October 1980.

His second flight was aboard Soyuz 40 as commander in May 1981 to Salyut 6.  It was a cooperation between the Soviet Union and Romania, with cosmonaut Dumitru Prunariu.  It was also the last flight of that type Soyuz spacecraft.

His third and final flight was as commander aboard Soyuz T-7 launched in August 1982 to Salyut 7.  Svetlana Savitskaya, the second woman in space, was also on board.  He returned to Earth on Soyuz T-5 later that month.

He has logged over 200 days in space.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Valery Ryumin!

Valery Ryumin, born August 16, 1939 in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of three Soyuz missions and one Space Shuttle flight.

His first mission into space was aboard Soyuz 25 in October 1977 as Flight Engineer.  It was the first mission to new Salyut 6, but after five attempts failed at engaging docking latches, the trip was aborted.  This led to a new rule such that every crew had to have at least one non-rookie on board.

His second flight was aboard Soyuz 32 to Salyut 6, launched in February 1979.  Although he and Commander Vladimir Lyakhov docked successfully, the visiting crew did not. The Soviets decided to have Soyuz 32 returned to Earth with no one aboard, to serve as a replacement vehicle.  They returned to Earth on Soyuz 34 in August.

Just eight months later, Ryumin was back in space aboard Soyuz 35 to Salyut 6. He spent 185 days in space, setting a new record for the time.  He returned to Earth October 1980 on Soyuz 37.

His final mission into space was aboard Discovery (STS-91) in June 1998.  It was the final Space Shuttle mission to the Mir space Station.

He is married to fellow cosmonaut Yelena Kondakova. 

Soyuz 37 launched 1980

Soyuz 37 crew (L-R): Viktor Gorbatko, Pham Tuan

Soyuz 37 mission patch

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.

Happy birthday, Phạm Tuân, first Vietnamese cosmonaut!

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, 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.