Viktor Gorbatko, Russian astronaut flied with Phạm Tuân, died at 83

May 17th, 2017, Viktor Gorbatko, one of the first Soviet-era cosmonauts and a veteran of three flights into space, died on Wednesday (May 17) at the age of 83 . He was awarded the Vietnam Hero of Labor and the Hồ Chí Minh Medal.

Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko was born on Dec. 3, 1934 in the village of Ventsy-Zarya in Krasnodar Krai.  Inspired to become a pilot by the stories he heard from his siblings of World War II aviators, he joined the Soviet Army in 1952 and one year later, graduated from the 8th Military Aviation School in the Ukrainian town of Pavlograd.
 
In 1960, he joined the first Soviet outer space team and he had been flying three times into space in 1969, 1977 and 1980.
 

Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko and Phạm Tuân
 
On his third and final spaceflight, Gorbatko launched with Phạm Tuân, the first Vietnamese citizen and first Asian in space. The 8-day Intercosmos flight marked the 13th crew to visit the Salyut 6 station. Gorbatko and Tuân returned to Earth on the Soyuz 36 spacecraft on July 31, 1980. The flight has become a historic event making a new milestone in the development of the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the former Soviet as well as the Russian today.
 
He left the cosmonaut team two years after his last space flight on Aug. 28, 1982 to become the deputy president of the committee for sports in the Soviet Ministry of Defense. Later, he taught at the Air Force Engineering Academy and served as general director of AA & AL in Moscow.
 
He engaged in bilateral friendship activities and he was a close friend of Vietnam. Among the many Soviet and international titles awarded, he was awarded the Vietnam Hero of Labor Medal and the Hồ Chí Minh Medal.
 
Amemorial service and funeral  was held on Friday (May 19) at a cemetery in Mytischi, Moscow.
 
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