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Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko (; 3 December 1934 – 17 May 2017) was a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
who flew on the Soyuz 7, Soyuz 24, and
Soyuz 37 Soyuz 37 (, ''Union 37'') was a 1980 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the 13th mission to and 11th successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz 37 crew were the third to visit the long-duration Soyuz 35 ...
missions.


Early life

Viktor Vasilievich Gorbatko was born on 3 December 1934 to Vasili Pavlovich and Matrena Aleksandrovna Gorbatko. Viktor was raised in the
Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...
settlement of Ventsy-Zarya in the Gulkevich district. Gorbatko had four siblings, an older brother, Boris, two older sisters, Elena and Valentina, and Ludmila, the youngest sibling. Viktor was given the opportunity to learn from Nadezdha Karaulova who taught from ABC books that were often censored by the Nazis of everything that had to do with the Soviet histories. Viktor finished seventh grade in 1949 and then attended a secondary school in the Novokubanski district.


Personal life and career

Viktor's interest in becoming a pilot was sparked during the conflict between the Soviets and the Nazis. His siblings often told him stories of brave pilots and their adventures and he too followed in their footsteps. Upon joining the
Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...
in 1952, Viktor requested to be assigned to flight school. Following his enlisting, Viktor was sent to the 8th Military Aviation School of Pilot Basic Training in the Ukrainian town of Pavlograd, Dnepropetrovsk Region where he was taught to fly. Viktor graduated on 23 June 1956 as a lieutenant in the Soviet air force. Gorbatko married his first wife Valentina Pavlovna Ordynskaya. Gorbatko also had two children, Irina his first daughter, and Marina, his second daughter, in 1960. Gorbatko became part of the 86th Guards Fighter Regiment of the 119th Fighter Division, attached to the 48th Air Army operating out of the Odessa Military District in Moldavia. On 22 June 1957 Gorbatko achieved the rank of senior pilot. He would not achieve the senior lieutenant ranking until 6 August 1958, and in October would achieve the military pilots ranking, third class. Gorbatko was among the first group of
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
s. He began training in early 1960 but he did not reach space until 1967. His first spaceflight was Soyuz 7 from 12 to 17 October 1969 where he was Research Engineer. This mission tested Soviet lunar equipment but a failed docking with
Soyuz 8 Soyuz 8 (, ''Union 8'') was part of an October, 1969, joint mission with Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 7 that saw three Soyuz spacecraft in orbit together at the same time, carrying a total of seven cosmonauts. The crew consisted of commander Vladimir ...
was the last in-space test before that program was abandoned. Gorbatko was the commander of the 18-day Soyuz 24 mission in February 1977 to the
Salyut 5 Salyut 5 ( meaning ''Salute 5''), also known as OPS-3, was a Soviet space station. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz space station to be launched for the Soviet military. Two Soyuz missions visited ...
space station. This was the last all-military spaceflight by the Soviet Union. In 1980, Gorbatko commanded
Soyuz 37 Soyuz 37 (, ''Union 37'') was a 1980 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the 13th mission to and 11th successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz 37 crew were the third to visit the long-duration Soyuz 35 ...
which also carried Pham Tuân, the first Vietnamese astronaut. Gorbatko and Pham Tuân flew to
Salyut 6 Salyut 6 () was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme, and alternatively known DOS-5 as it was the fifth of the Durable Orbital Station series of civilian space stations. It was launched on 29 September 19 ...
and landed in the
Soyuz 36 Soyuz 36 (, ''Union 36'') was a 1980 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the 11th mission to and ninth successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz 36 crew were the first to visit the long-duration Soyuz 3 ...
capsule that had earlier docked at the space station. Gorbatko spent 7 days and 20 hours in space on this mission. After leaving the space program in 1982 he taught at the Air Force Engineering Academy in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. Upon his death he was buried in the
Federal Military Memorial Cemetery The Federal Military Memorial Cemetery (Russian: Федеральное военное мемориальное кладбище) is a national cemetery of Russia, located in Mytishchinsky District, Moscow Oblast, on the north-eastern outskirts ...
.


Awards

His multiple Soviet and Russian Federation awards include: *Twice
Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...
*
Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR The honorary title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR () was a state award of the Soviet Union presented to all cosmonauts who flew for the Soviet Space Agency. Usually accompanying the distinction was the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the hi ...
*Three
Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...
*
Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...
*
Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...
* Medal "For Distinction in the Protection of the State Borders" * Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" * Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Soviet Militia" His foreign awards include: *
Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic The title Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic was the highest distinction in the Mongolian People's Republic (MPR). It was modeled on the Soviet Union's highest award, the Hero of the Soviet Union title. History Soon after the victory of th ...
*Hero of Socialist Labour (Vietnam) * Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolia) *
Order of the Red Banner (Mongolia) The Order of the Red Banner () is a military decoration of Mongolia, originally established as the "Order for Military Merit" of the People's Republic of Mongolia. The medal has been awarded to citizens as well as foreigners and institutions for ...
* Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" *Medal "60 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" *Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Army" *Medal "60 Years of the Mongolian People's Army" *Medal "40 years Khalkhin Gol Victory" (Mongolia) *Medal "30 Years of Victory over Japan's Militarists" (Mongolia) *Medal of Friendship (Mongolia) * Medal "Brotherhood in Arms" (East Germany) *Medal "Brotherhood in Arms" (Poland) *
Order of Ho Chi Minh The Order of Ho Chi Minh () is a decoration of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that was first instituted on 6 June 1947. The creator of the order was the president Hồ Chí Minh. The Order of Ho Chi Minh is conferred or posthumously conferre ...
(Vietnam)


References


External links

*
The official website of the city administration Baikonur - Honorary citizens of Baikonur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorbatko, Viktor 1934 births 2017 deaths People from Gulkevichsky District Soviet Air Force generals Soviet major generals Soviet cosmonauts Heroes of the Soviet Union 1969 in spaceflight Recipients of the Order of Ho Chi Minh Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" Burials at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery Salyut program cosmonauts