Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko (russian: Ви́ктор Васи́льевич Горбатко́; 3 December 1934 – 17 May 2017) was a

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 the

Soyuz 7 Soyuz 7 (russian: Союз 7, ''Union 7'') was part of an October, 1969, joint mission with Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 8 that saw three Soyuz spacecraft in orbit together at the same time, carrying a total of seven cosmonauts. The crew consisted of ...

Soyuz 24 Soyuz 24 (russian: Союз 24, ''Union 24'') was a February, 1977, Soviet mission to the Salyut 5 space station, the third and final mission to the station, the last purely military crew for the Soviets and the final mission to a military Sal ...

, and

Soyuz 37 Soyuz 37 (russian: Союз 37, ''Union 37'') was a 1980 Soviet Union, 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 v ...

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, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

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 uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

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 Pavlohrad (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in central east Ukraine, located within the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. It serves as the administrative center of Pavlohrad Raion. Its population is approximately . The rivers of Vovcha (runs through t ...

, 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

s. He began training in early 1960 but he did not reach space until 1967. His first spaceflight was

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 (russian: Союз 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 ...

was the last in-space test before that program was abandoned. Gorbatko was the commander of the 18-day

mission in February 1977 to 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. This was the last all-military spaceflight by the Soviet Union. In 1980, Gorbatko commanded

which also carried Pham Tuân, the first Vietnamese astronaut. Gorbatko and Pham Tuân flew to

Salyut 6 Salyut 6 (russian: Салют-6; lit. Salute 6), DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme. It was launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket. Salyut 6 was the first space station to receiv ...

and landed in the

Soyuz 36 Soyuz 36 (russian: Союз 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 ...

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 ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. 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 o ...

Awards

His multiple Soviet and Russian Federation awards include: *Twice

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 ...

*Three

Orders 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 ...

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') 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 a ...

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) 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 193 ...

* Medal "For Distinction in the Protection of the State Borders" *

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 ...

Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Soviet Militia" The Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Soviet Militia" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «50 лет советской милиции») was a state commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established by decree of the Presidium of the Supr ...

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) The Order of Sukhbaatar (or Order of Suche Bator) is a state decoration of Mongolia, originally instituted on 16 May 1941. It was awarded to Mongolians and foreigners "for special services to defenses, economic and cultural construction of the Mon ...

Order of the Red Banner (Mongolia) The Order of the Red Banner ( mn, «Цэргийн гавьяаны улаан туг» одон) is a military decoration of Mongolia, originally established as the "Order for Military Merit" of the People's Republic of Mongolia. The medal has be ...

Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" The Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" ( mn, Монгол ардын хувьсгалын 50 жилийн ойн медаль) was a state award of the Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүг ...

*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 ( vi, Huân chương Hồ Chí 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 c ...

(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