Soyuz T-11, launched April 3, 1984, carried the first Indian cosmonaut into space. The spacecraft docked with Salyut 7. Its crew consisted of Commander Yuri Malyshev, Gennady Strekalov, and Rakesh Sharma.
Soyuz T-11 remained docked with the space station until October. Its landing crew consisted of Commander Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov, and Oleg Atkov.
Leonid Kizim, born August 5, 1941 in present-day Ukraine, was a veteran of three space flights.
His first flight was aboard Soyuz T-3 to the Salyut 6 space station in November 1980. He stayed in space for almost 13 days before returning to Earth.
His second flight was on Soyuz T-10 to the Salyut 7 space station in February 1984. He and his fellow cosmonauts had to enter Salyut 7 with flashlights until they could reactivate the station. He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz T-11 in October 1984
His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz T-15 to Salyut 7 and Mir space stations in March 1986. It was the first time a spacecraft visited two space stations in the same mission. He returned to Earth in July 1986.
Oleg Atkov, born May 9, 1949 in the former Soviet Union, went into space aboard Soyuz T-10 as flight engineer to Salyut 7 in February 1984. He stayed aboard the space station until October and returned to Earth in Soyuz T-11.
Yury Malyshev, born August 27, 1941 in the former Soviet Union, went into space twice. His first mission was aboard Soyuz T-2 as commander in June 1980 to Salyut 6.
His second mission was aboard Soyuz T-11 as commander in April 1984 to Salyut 7. He returned to Earth on Soyuz T-10 about a week later.
Gennady Strekalov, born October 26, 1940, went into space 5 times. He lived on Salyut 6, Salyut 7 and Mir.
His first mission into space was aboard Soyuz T-3 as a research cosmonaut November-December 1980 to Salyut 6. He and the rest of the crew of Soyuz T-3 stayed aboard for almost 13 days.
His second trip was as flight engineer on Soyuz T-8 in April 1983 to Salyut 7. The craft failed to dock with the space station and due to damage to Soyuz T-8, the decision was made to return to Earth after only 2 days.
In September 1983, Strekalov attempted to go into space on Soyuz T-10-1 with fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Titov. The launch vehicle was destroyed by fire before the countdown had completed. The escape system fired two seconds before the rocket exploded, saving the crew, battered and bruised but alive.
His third trip, which was successful, was as Flight Engineer on Soyuz T-11 in April 1984 to Salyut 7. He returned to Earth on Soyuz T-10 about a week later.
Gennady's fourth trip was on Soyuz TM-10 as flight engineer to Mir in August 1990. He and Gennadi Manakov spent over 4 months on Mir and returned to Earth December.
His fifth and final trip was on Soyuz TM-21 as flight engineer, launched in March 1995 to Mir. He was part of the crew of the expedition Mir EO-18. He returned to Earth on Atlantis (STS-71) in July.
Soyuz T-10, launched February 8, 1984, was the fifth mission to the Salyut 7 space station. Its crew consisted of Commander Leonid Kizim, Flight Engineer Vladimir Solovyov and Research Cosmonaut Oleg Atkov.
The crew entered a dark, empty space station with flashlights, noticing a "burnt-metal odor" inside. They reactivated the space station and conducted three EVAs to repair a fuel line.
Soyuz T-10 returned to Earth April 11, with Commander Yury Malyshev, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov and Research Cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma, India's first astronaut and his inaugural flight. The original crew stayed aboard Salyut 7 and returned to Earth on Soyuz T-11, October 2, 1984.
