Vitaly Mikhaylovich Zholobov (russian: link=no, Виталий Михайлович Жолобов; born 18 June 1937) is a retired

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

who flew on

Soyuz 21 Soyuz 21 (russian: Союз 21, ''Union 21'') was a 1976 Soviet crewed mission to the Salyut 5 space station, the first of three flights to the station. The mission's objectives were mainly military in scope, but included other scientific work. ...

space flight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either human spaceflight, with or uncrewed spaceflight, without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly w ...

as the flight engineer.

Career

Zholobov joined the space programme from the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

where he held the rank of Colonel-engineer. His only trip to space involved a two-month stay on the

Salyut 5 Salyut 5 (russian: Салют-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 Soy ...

space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...

(

mission). The flight was scheduled to last for 60 days but lasted for only 49. The reason for the cancellation was the detection of a noxious odor on board. Vitaly Zholobov reported to the Mission Control Center that the smell was similar to that of a propellant which was known to be toxic. The Control Center decided to abort the mission to avoid exposing the crew to further risk and because the research and technology programs were already successfully finished. He was in orbit from 6 June 1976 to 24 August 1976.Zholobov
Spacefacts.de Although he never flew again, Zholobov stayed in the space programme until 1981 when he resigned to become director of a geological science research group.

Awards

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR The honorary title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR (russian: Летчик-космонавт СССР) was a state award of the Soviet Union presented to all cosmonauts who flew for the Soviet Space Agency. Usually accompanying the distinction w ...

* Order of Merit 3rd class (Ukraine) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" The Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" (russian: Медаль "За заслуги в освоении космоса") is a state decoration of the Russian Federation aimed at recognising achievements in the space program. It was established ...

(Russian Federation) *

Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" The Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" (russian: Медаль «За освоение целинных земель», Medal' "Za osvoyeniye tselinnykh zemel'") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union established on October 26, 1956 b ...

Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" The Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" (russian: Медаль «За отличие в охране государственной границы СССР») was a military decoration of the Soviet Union established t ...

References

External links

The story of Space Station Mir, David Michael Harland, 2005, page 16
The official website of the city administration Baikonur - Honorary citizens of Baikonur
1937 births Living people People from Kherson Oblast Soviet cosmonauts Heroes of the Soviet Union Ukrainian politicians Governors of Kherson Oblast Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" Recipients of the Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" Salyut program cosmonauts {{hero-USSR-stub