Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich biography briefly. Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich: brief biography of the astronaut

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Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko born on December 3, 1934 in the village of a state farm
"Ventsy-Zarya" (now - a rural settlement of the same name) Gulkevichsky district of the Krasnodar Territory in a peasant family .

His father - Gorbatko Vasily Pavlovich (28.08. 1902 - 1968 ) ,veterinarian at the stud farm
"Sunrise" (Krasnodar region , Novokubansky district ) ;
His mother - Gorbatko (nee Shmayunova) Matryona Aleksandrovna (28.11. 1901 - 1992 ) ,
collective farmer.

Victor was the fourth child in the family .
Besides him, the family raised:
Brother: Gorbatko Boris Vasilievich (1922 – 1984 ) ,participant of the Great Patriotic War,
military pilot, after retirement he worked as a mechanic;
sisters: Golikova (nee Gorbatko) Elena Vasilyevna (born March 15, 1925) ,higher education, laboratory chemist; as of 2000 - was retired;
Sorokina (nee Gorbatko) Valentina Vasilievna (12.01.1927 – 1998) ,
higher education, worked as an accountant before retiring ;
Abramenko (nee Gorbatko) Lyudmila Vasilievna(born October 14, 1939), higher education, worked as an agronomist before retiring.

Activities and service before space training:
In 1949 Victor Gorbatko graduated from 7 classes of secondary school No. 2 at Stud farm
"Voskhod" Novokubansky district of Krasnodar region, after which he transferred
V secondary school no. 4 at Biofactory No. 12 working V in the same area,
which he graduated from in 1952.

This year he was called V Armed Forces of the USSR Novokubansky District
Military Commissariat of the Krasnodar Territory V communications With receipt
V 8th Military Aviation School of Initial Pilot Training
V city of Pavlograd, Dnepropetrovsk region, Ukrainian SSR.

In 1956 V.V. Gorbatko graduated from the Bataysk Military Aviation School
pilots named after A.K. Serova (Bataysk city, Rostov region) .

Since August 22, 1956 he served as a pilot, and from June 22, 1957 - Senior pilot
86th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 119th Fighter Aviation Division of the 48th Air Army of the Odessa Military District, stationed V city of Tiraspol, Moldavian SSR.
V.V. Gorbatkoserved V one aviation squadron With future
Pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR .

Space training:
January 11, 1960 due to Air Force General Staff Directive No. 321141
"On the formation of the Air Force Central Training Center and the cosmonaut corps", The final selection of applicants for the cosmonaut corps has begun.
In February 1960 a Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko successfully passed the medical
examinationV Central Military Research Aviation Hospital, after which he was presented to the Credentials Commission, which on approved his candidacy at its meeting And gave permission For passing
special training.

dated March 7, 1960 senior lieutenant Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich was enrolled as an astronaut student V cosmonaut squad of the Air Force Cosmonaut Training Center (TsPK Air Force).

March 6, 1961 he became a student of the student detachment of the cosmonaut department of the Air Force Training Center.

By completion of general space training And successful completion of final exams
By Order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force No. 267 from April 4, 1961 captain V.V. Gorbatko
Was assigned on cosmonaut position And Qualified as an Air Force astronaut.

September 17, 1963 V.V. Gorbatko entered V group of astronauts For preparation
To group flight on two Vostok spacecraft
duration 8-10 days.
Flight Not took place V communications With closure of the Vostok program.

Since July 1964 Victor Vasilievich Gorbatkowas trained V as Commander of the Second (backup) crewFor flight By program "Exit"
on spacecraft "Voskhod-2" (ZKD), together With Evgeniy Vasilievich Khrunov.

December 22, 1964 before rotation on centrifuge at background registration
electrophysical indicators at V.V. Gorbatko changes have emerged V
heart electrocardiogram, testified O some decrease in the functional activity of the heart.
In this regard, on January 5, 1965 he was suspended from preparation To flight (replaced YES. Zaikin- approx.) , after which it was sent For examinations V Central Military Research Aviation Hospital .
After removal of tonsils And subsequent treatment claims from doctors To V.V. Gorbatko
were withdrawn, And he got clearance again To special training .

April 12, 1965 astronauts V.V. Gorbatko, E.V. KhrunovAnd YES. Zaikinwere
presented Air Force Command V as backup members of the starting
female crew training - Valentina Leonidovna Ponomareva
And Irina Bayanovna Solovyova.
Exit was planned V open space I.B. Solovyovafrom spaceship "Voskhod" (ZKD), But crew compositions like this and not were agreed upon With Air Force Command
V represented by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshal S.I. Rudenko, because of
The marshal went to bed V hospital For examinations.
It's already April 14th, N.P. Kamaninpresented S.P. Korolevadjusted crew compositions , in one of which were also planned V.V. Gorbatko (together With G.S. Shonin - approx. ) , and April 17 even approved them finally, after which the astronauts trained V their compositions until November 24, 1966 .
In that day Chief designer of OKB-1 S.P. KorolevHe has made a decisionO cessation of work By program "Voskhod" ( V connections with works By the new Soyuz spacecraft - approx. ) , however there was still hope on flight And the women continued training alone With appointed To him as understudies Zhanna Dmitrievna Sergeichik (Yorkina) And Tatyana Dmitrievna Pitskhelauri (Kuznetsova) .
But death Sergei Pavlovich Korolevfinally canceled the plans And flying
as feminine so and male crews Not took place.

From May to November 1965 V.V. Gorbatko was trained V as co-pilot For flight By program "Exit" on spaceship "Voskhod" (ZKD)
V as part of a group of astronauts.

From December 1965 to January 1966 Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko was trained
V as co-pilot of the first crew of the Voskhod-3 spacecraft
(ZKV No. 6) By military program,together With Boris Valentinovich Volynov .

From January 14 to January 29, 1966 Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko was trained
By the same program V as commander of the third (backup) crew together
With Georgy Petrovich Katys .
Preparations have been stopped on based on the Order of the Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force
By space, Colonel General N.P. Kamanina.
Your decision Nikolai Petrovichexplained by loading the simulators with the main
And backup crews, and in connection with this lack of need
preparation To reserve crew flight.
On in fact,everything worked out the same as with female crew flight plans
(cm. higher ) .

From February 1966 to April 1967 Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko was trained
To flight V (duplicate) crew of the Soyuz-2 spacecraft With passive docking station By program
"Docking" With transition from ship V , together
With And Peter Ivanovich Kolodin ,
whom in September 1966 replaced Valery Nikolaevich Kubasov.
He was appointed backup commander of the Soyuz-1 spacecraft. Gagarin Yuri Alekseevich.
The crew compositions were finally approved November 16, 1966.
Launch of the Soyuz-2 spacecraft,scheduled on April 24, 1967 was cancelled
in connection with a series of emergency situations that appeared after the exit on orbit
spacecraft "Soyuz-1",who brought V in the end To tragic death
at landing of the ship's commander Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.

Since March 14, 1966 V.V. Gorbatko was a cosmonaut of the 1st detachment
Air Force Cosmonaut Training Center .

In September 1966 By order of the Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force By space V The Air Force Central Command Center was
group of cosmonauts "L-3" was formed For preparation To flight on Moon By program
"N-1 - "L-3", where until July 18, 1969 and from January 1970 to 1972 formally registered
V.V. Gorbatko, while continuing to prepare By other programs,
as well as many of his comrades By group.

In 1961 - 1968 without interruption from preparation To space flights V.V. Gorbatko was trained V Air Force Engineering Academy named after
Professor N.E. Zhukovsky.
By After completing it, he received the qualification "pilot-engineer-cosmonaut".

From June 1967 to December 1968 he was undergoing training To flight V as a research engineer of the second (duplicate) spaceship crew
"Soyuz-5" With passive docking station By "Docking" program With transition
from ship V ship through outer space, together With Andriyan Grigorievich Nikolaev ( in August 1968 replaced Anatoly Vasilievich Filipchenko - approx. )
And .

January 15, 1969, in launch time of the Soyuz-5 spacecraft Victor Vasilievich
Gorbatkowas a backup to the ship's research engineer
Evgeniy Vasilievich Khrunova.

From February to July 1969 V.V. Gorbatko was trained V as a research engineer for the main crew of the Soyuz-7 spacecraft With passive
docking station By flight program for three manned spacecraft,
together With And Vladislav Nikolaevich Volkov.
Because of flight delays from July to September 1969 he continued his preparations
on the same program in the same crew V training maintenance mode.

Your first flight V spaceVictor Vasilievich Gorbatkocommitted from 12 to 17 October
1969 as a spacecraft research engineer "Soyuz-7"
with a passive docking unit according to the flight program of three manned spacecraft,
together with Anatoly Vasilievich Filipchenko And Vladislav Nikolaevich Volkov.
Planned docking with the Soyuz-8 spacecraft,manned Vladimir Alexandrovich Shatalov And Alexey Stanislavovich Eliseev
did not take place due to failure of the Igla rendezvous and docking system
on the Soyuz-8 spacecraft .

Call sign V.V. Gorbatko: "Buran-3".

004 days 22 hours 40 minutes 23 seconds .

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Since April 30, 1969 Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko was an astronaut
cosmonaut detachment of the 1st department of the 1st directorate of the Air Force Central Command Center.

March 10, 1970 he was appointed on position of deputy detachment commander
cosmonauts - instructor-cosmonaut of the 3rd department of the 1st directorate
Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu.A. Gagarin .

Since 1971 V.V. Gorbatko was trained By flight program on military long-term orbital station "Almaz" first V composition of the group,
then from November 1971 to April 1972 - in conditional crew together
With Vitaly Mikhailovich Zholobov .

IN flew in preparation for space flight on Yak-18 aircraft, Yak-11,
UTI MiG-15bis, L-29, MiG-17, IL-14 And Mi-8 helicopter.

Since November 11, 1971 V.V. Gorbatko appeared -Deputy Head of the 2nd Department of the Cosmonaut Training Center
named after Yu.A. Gagarin.

Since April 30, 1974 he was an instructor-cosmonaut of the 2nd department (military department
programs) 1st Directorate of the Cosmetic Training Center named after Yu.A. Gagarin, and from March 30, 1976 was
Commander of a group of cosmonauts of special spacecraft
(military) purpose.

In July - August 1974 he provided ground support on product No. 100
(plane T-4 - "weaving" - approx. ) in time of manned military flight
orbital manned station OPS-101-2 "Almaz" ("Salyut-3").

From January 1975 to June 1976 Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko passed direct
preparation To flight on military orbital manned station OPS-103 "Almaz"
("Salyut-5")V as Commander of the Third (reserve) crew,
together With Yuri Nikolaevich Glazkov.

From July to September 30, 1976 V.V. Gorbatko was trained V as Commander of the Second (backup) crewBy program of the 2nd expedition on military orbital manned station OPS-103 "Almaz"
("Salyut-5"), together With Yu.N. Glazkov.

October 14, 1976, in launch time of the Soyuz-23 spacecraft Victor
Vasilievich Gorbatko
Vyacheslav Dmitrievich Zudov .

From November 1976 to January 1977 V.V. Gorbatko was trained V as the main crew commander By program of the 2nd expedition on military
orbital manned station OPS-103 "Almaz"
("Salyut-5"), together With Yu.N. Glazkov.

Your second flight V space Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko committed withFebruary 7 to February 25, 1977 as Commander of the Soyuz-24 spacecraft and the 2nd expedition
to the military orbital manned station OPS-103 "Almaz"
("Salyut-5"), together With Yuri Nikolaevich Glazkov.

IN During the flight, the crew carried out a partial replacement of the station's atmosphere,
and - a series of scientific experiments And defense significance.

Call sign V.V. Gorbatko: "Terek-1".

The flight duration was 17 days 17 hours 25 minutes 58 seconds .

Further space training :
From August 22, 1977 to August 9, 1978 V.V. Gorbatko was trained
V as the Commander of the backup crew of the visiting expedition on
By Intercosmos program
together With citizen of the German Democratic Republic
Eberhard Köllner .

Since January 25, 1978 V.V. Gorbatko was a senior cosmonaut instructor - Deputy Head of the 1st Directorate of the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu.A. Gagarin
By cosmonaut training.

August 26, 1978 launch time of the Soyuz-31 spacecraft
Victor Vasilievich Gorbatkowas the ship's understudy
Valery Fedorovich Bykovsky .

From October 11, 1979 to July 10, 1980 Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko was trained V as the Commander of the main crew of the visiting expedition
on long-term orbital station "Salyut-6" By Intercosmos program
together With citizen of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Pham Thuan .

Your third and last space flight in your lifeVictor Vasilievich Gorbatko committed withJuly 23 to July 31, 1980 as Space Shuttle Commander
Soyuz-37 and visiting expeditions to the long-term orbital station
"Salyut-6" under the Intercosmos program together With citizen of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam Pham Thuan .

During the flight , was carried out at a long-term orbital station
joint work with the crew of the fourth long-term expedition, astronauts
Leonid Ivanovich Popov And Valery Viktorovich Ryumin .

At the end of the joint flight, the cosmonauts Victor Gorbatko and Pham Tuan returned to Earth in the descent module of the Soyuz-36 spacecraft .

Call sign V.V. Gorbatko: "Terek-1".

The flight duration was 7 days 20 hours 42 minutes 00 seconds .

Further service at the Cosmonaut Training Center:
After returning on Earth And subsequent rehabilitation V.V. Gorbatko continued
service V positions of senior cosmonaut instructor - deputy chief
1st Directorate of the Cosmetic Training Center named after Yu.A. Gagarin By cosmonaut training.

Since January 25, 1982 he was an instructor-test cosmonaut -
Commander of the cosmonaut corps, and to long-range training V crew compositions
Not was involved.

By order of the Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu.A. Gagarin
dated August 28, 1982 Colonel Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievichwas expelled
from the cosmonaut corps ,relieved of his post as cosmonaut instructor
tester - Deputy Head of the 1st Directorate of the Yu.A. Gagarin
for cosmonaut training and was dismissed from the Cosmonaut Training Center due to a transfer
to a new duty station.

Further service and activities after dismissal
from the Cosmonaut Training Center:
From August 28, 1982 to May 8, 1987 V.V. Gorbatko servedV positions of First Deputy Chairman of the Sports Committee of the USSR Ministry of Defense
By international relations And Chairman of the Sports Bureau
friendly armies committee.

December 25, 1987 he was appointed for the post of Head of the Faculty of Correspondence Studies of the Air Force Engineering Academy named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky.

Further activities after dismissal from the Armed Forces
Russian Federation:
Since April 12, 1993 V.V. Gorbatko worked as Vice President of the Russian-
Ukrainian Limited Liability Company "Firm "Al and Al"".

Socio-political and sports activities :
Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko was elected:
Chairman of the USSR Parachuting Federation
( from February 1970 to December 1980) ;
Chairman of the Soviet-Mongolian Friendship Society
( from 1974 to 1992; President of the Society of Friends of Mongolia- since 1994) ;
Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from All-Union Society of Philatelists
( from April 1989 to December 1991) ;
Member of the Board of the Moscow Club of Heroes of the Soviet Union,
Heroes of the Russian Federation and full holders of the Order of Glory
( from January 1995, from August 1998 - Association of the same name ) ;
Member of the Presidium of the Russian Cosmonautics Federation;
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Autonomous Non-Profit
military organizations, veterans of collective peacekeeping forces
And members of their families "Peacemaker"
( since January 29, 2005) ;
Head of the Interstate Union of Hero Cities
and cities of military glory;
Chairman of the Friendship Society of Russia and Abkhazia
( since June 2008 ) ;
Chairman of the Presidium of the Council for Public Awards
Russian Federation (public organization) ;
Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian public organization
"Russian Committee of War and Military Service Veterans"
( in September 2012 at he was given responsibilities
Acting Chairman of this organization ) ;
Vice-President of the International Public Organization
"International League for the Defense of Human Dignity" And security";

In April 1988 at V Plenum of the Board of the All-Union Society of Philatelists
V.V. Gorbatko was elected Chairman of the Board And member of the Presidium
All-Union Society of Philatelists.
In October 1989 at At the VI Congress of the All-Union Society of Philatelists, he was elected
Chairman of the Central Board of the Union of Philatelists of the USSR.
On III Congress of the USSR Philatelists Union, passing December 1-2, 2001,
he was elected President of the Russian Philatelists Union.
December 12, 2009 The V Congress of the SFR elected V.V. Gorbatko Honorary President
Russian Philatelists Union.

From May 1995 to 1999V.V. Gorbatko worked as an adviser to the deputy
Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation .

In December 1995 he ran for office on elections V State Duma
Russian Federation of the 2nd convocation By Proletarian constituency No. 145
city of Rostov-on-Don How candidate from electoral bloc "Power to the people!",
But elected Not was.

In December 1999 he ran for office on elections V State Duma
Russian Federation of the 3rd convocation By electoral bloc list
"Russian All-People's Union" (ROS), But elected Not was.

IN free time Victor Vasilievich Gorbatkodevoted himself to collecting
stamps , tennis lessons,reading literature, watching movies, visiting
theaters; loved fishing And hunting; studied history And propaganda of astronautics;
was the Star City Chess Champion ( in 1967 ) and by tennis ( in 1969 ) .

Military ranks:
lieutenant ( since June 23, 1956 ) ;
senior lieutenant( since August 6, 1958) ;
captain (since August 30, 1960) ;
Major (since March 23, 1963) ;
lieutenant colonel( since September 30, 1965) ;
Colonel (assigned by Order of the USSR Minister of Defense
dated October 15, 1969) ;
Major General of Aviation( assigned by the Resolution
Council of Ministers of the USSR dated December 16, 1982) .

By order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation of August 29, 1992
Major General of Aviation Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich wasdismissed from the Armed Forces
forces of the Russian Federation to the reserve with an announcement of gratitude
and presentation of a Certificate of Appreciation.

Coolness:
Military pilot 3rd class( from October 16, 1958) ;
Military pilot 2nd class ( since July 7, 1972 ) ;
Air Force Parachute Training Instructor
( since November 10, 1960, performed more than 120 jumps) ;
Cosmonaut 3rd class ( since October 30, 1969) ;
Cosmonaut 2nd class( since March 4, 1977) ;
1st class cosmonaut( since August 8, 1980) .

Awards:
By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR № 253/34 dated June 17, 1961"Behind successful completion of a special task of the Government to create
samples of rocket technology, spacecraft-satellite "Vostok"
and the world's first flight of this ship with a person on board "
captain Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich was awarded
Order of the Red Star.

,
"For carrying out an orbital flight on the Soyuz-7 spacecraft"
and the courage and heroism displayed at the same time" , cosmonaut,
Colonel Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievichwas awarded the title
Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin to him
and Gold Star medals (№ 10723 ) .

By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 22, 1969,
"For carrying out an orbital flight on the Soyuz-7 spacecraft" ,
Colonel Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievichwas awarded the title
"USSR Pilot-Cosmonaut" (badge number 21) .

By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 5, 1977,
"For the implementation of space flight on the orbital complex "Soyuz-24" -
"Salyut-5" and the courage and heroism displayed at the same time" , twice Hero
Soviet Union, USSR pilot-cosmonaut, Colonel
Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievichwas awarded the Order of Lenin
and the second medal "Gold Star" .

By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 31, 1980,
"For the implementation of space flight on the orbital complex "Soyuz-37" -
"Soyuz-36" - "Salyut-6" and the courage and heroism shown at the same time" ,
twice Hero of the Soviet Union, USSR pilot-cosmonaut, Colonel
Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievichwas awarded the Order of Lenin .

By order of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 26, 2010
No. 2231-r "For his great personal contribution to the development of manned astronautics
and strengthening friendship and cooperation between States"
USSR pilot-cosmonautGorbatko Viktor Vasilievich was awarded
Certificate of Honor from the Government of the Russian Federation.

By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 434 of April 12, 2011
"For great services in the development of the Russian manned cosmonautics and many years of fruitful public activity"
twiceHero of the Soviet Union, USSR pilot-cosmonaut
Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich was awarded
Order of Friendship.

By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 436 of April 12, 2011
""For great achievements in the field of research, development and use
outer space,many years of conscientious work, active social activities" twiceHero of the Soviet Union,
USSR pilot-cosmonaut
Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich was awarded
Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration".
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Besides , V.V. Gorbatko was awarded medals :"For military valor.
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" ( 1970 ) ,
"For excellence in protecting the State Border" ( 1977 ) ,"For the development of virgin lands
lands" ( twice - October 17, 1969 and February 25, 1977) ,"In memory of the 850th anniversary
Moscow" ( 1997 ) ,"Twenty years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945
years" ( 1965 ) ,"Veteran of the USSR Armed Forces", "For strengthening the combat
Commonwealth","40 years of the USSR Armed Forces" ( 1958 ) ,"50 years of the Armed Forces
THE USSR" ( 1968 ) ,"60 years of the USSR Armed Forces" ( 1978 ) ,"70 years of the USSR Armed Forces"
( 1988 ) ,"50 years of the Soviet police" ( 1969 and V.V. Gorbatko were assigned
title "Honored Master of Sports of the USSR" .

In 2013 Victor Vasilievich Gorbatkowas awarded
Sign of the Governor of the Moscow Region "Thank you" .

In 2006, he was awarded the Order of Peter the Great, an award established by
Foundation "Best Managers of the New Era", awarded for outstanding
services to the Fatherland.

Victor Vasilievich Gorbatko- Honorary citizen of cities : Krasnodar, Novokubansk And Gulkevichi, Krasnodar Territory, Kaluga, Gagarin
Smolensk region,Armavir, Rostov region, Terek Kabardino-
Balkaria (Russia ), Karaganda, Kostanay, Arkalyk, Kostanay region
(Kazakhstan ), Smolyan, Sliven (Bulgaria), Choibalsan (Mongolia).

Awards from foreign countries , which he was awarded
Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich:
medal "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic and the Mongolian Order of Sukhbaatar ( in May 1971, h and contribution to the development of the Soviet-Mongolian
friendship" as Chairman of the Soviet-Mongolian Friendship Society) ;
medal "Gold Star" of the Hero of Labor of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnamese Order of Ho Chi Minh, 1st degree ( in September 1980,for the successful implementation of the Soviet-Vietnamese space flight ) ;
Order of the Red Banner of the Mongolian People's Republic ( 1974 ) ;
Medal of the German Democratic Republic "Brotherhood in Arms" ( 1979 ) ;
Medals of the People's Republic of Bulgaria"25 years of the proclamation of the NRB"
and "For strengthening brotherhood in arms" ;
Medal of the Polish People's Republic"Brotherhood in Arms" ;
medal Democratic People's Republic of Korea"40 years of Liberation" ;
medals of the Mongolian People's Republic -
"Friendship", "50 years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" ( 1971 ) ; "60 years of Mongolian
People's Revolution" ( 1981 ) ; "50 years of the Mongolian People's Army" ( 1971 ) ;
"60 years of the Mongolian People's Army" ( 1981 ) ; " 40 years of Victory at Khalkhin Gol"
( 1979 ) ; " 50 years of Victory at Khalkhin Gol" ( 1989 ) ; "30 years of Victory over the Japanese
militarists" ( 1975 ) .
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On May 17, 2017, in Moscow, after a serious and long illness, at the age of 83, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of three Orders of Lenin and the Order of the Red Star, pilot-cosmonaut Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko died. We met Viktor Vasilyevich in 2009. I then did an interview with him, it was published. But today, years later, in memory of this wonderful man and cosmonaut, I want to again present the interview to your attention. After all, someone didn’t read it, and someone read it and forgot. And Viktor Vasilyevich told it very interestingly!

Archpriest Alexander Novopashin

We met the famous cosmonaut pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko at a conference of public organizations in Novosibirsk, which was held by the Council for Public Awards of the Russian Federation. Viktor Vasilievich spoke at the conference as chairman of the presidium of the Council. “I’m shaking hands with an astronaut for the first time!” - I burst out. This is how our acquaintance began.

- Tell me, Viktor Vasilyevich, how is it there, beyond the threshold of the earthly sky? What impression did space make on you?

The Earth from space is incredibly beautiful. It is blue in color, which is why it is called the "blue planet". Mountains, seas, deserts are clearly visible to the naked eye, but there are no traces of human activity, which, unfortunately, is not always creative. But space itself is no less beautiful. If you are in Earth’s orbit, on the shadow side of the planet, then an endless majestic starry sky opens before your eyes. The picture is so grandiose - it takes your breath away! But if you look into space from the daylight side of the Earth, illuminated by the Sun, then the sight, I admit, is unattractive. I would even say nondescript. It feels like the whole space is covered in dirty fog.
No stars are visible, except that some planets are visible...

Did you dream of becoming an astronaut or did everything happen completely unexpectedly for you - as they said then, “an order of the party and the government”?

Of course, I didn’t even think about space, but I really dreamed of becoming a pilot since childhood. I was born and raised in Kuban. During the Great Patriotic War, we lived for some time in occupation territory. And one day I saw a fascist pilot shooting a herd of horses. This made an indelible impression on me, a child. From that moment on, I was finally confirmed in my desire to become a pilot in order to protect the sky from enemies.

By the way, Father Alexander, my mother was a deeply religious Orthodox person. But she was able to baptize me only during the war, when dad was at the front. Otherwise he wouldn't have allowed it.

The world lives by the providence of God, and each of us, regardless of whether he believes in God or not, is under the constant influence of His Wisdom. Your mother baptized you and from that moment received the opportunity from the Lord to pray for you as a servant of God.

Perhaps, through her prayers, the Lord is favorable to me. I became a pilot, an astronaut, was in space three times, made friends with wonderful people...

After graduating from school, I studied at the Pavlograd flight school, then at the Bataysk fighter school, after graduating from which I was sent to a lost Moldavian village - no one ever wanted to serve there. There wasn’t even a settlement on the map - there was just a cross mark - that’s all!

But I loved to fly. I received incredible satisfaction from my work. I didn’t even think about space then, just as, I suppose, my future cosmonaut friends didn’t think about space either. And even in October 1957, when the first artificial Earth satellite was launched and we were lively discussing this event, no one thought about flying there. It didn't seem real...

- What happened then?

Two years later, in 1959, I was unexpectedly summoned to the deputy for political affairs. I go to him, and I’m going over it in my head - what did I do that made me fall out of favor? But instead<взбучки>They suddenly took a “non-disclosure agreement” from me and sent me to the first-aid post, where the regimental doctor and an unfamiliar lieutenant colonel were already waiting. They started asking questions, in particular they asked about plans for the future. I honestly answered that I wanted to fly, and also dreamed of entering the Monin Academy. And then they ask me, would I like to fly at an altitude of 100 kilometers? I was confused, I thought they were joking. “On satellites, or what?” I ask. And I hear a serious answer: “On satellites.”

Two months later I was called to Moscow for a medical commission. The commission turned out to be so strict that many were seriously afraid that they would be found to have some health problems and would not only be denied a new job, but even banned from flying altogether. There were also those who, because of this, refused a medical examination altogether. There I also met Yura Gagarin: we decided to stick with him until the last. But I really wanted to undergo a medical examination! Although we understood that with such a serious selection process, our chances of getting into the team were not that great. Later we learned that out of three thousand pilots, the commission selected only 300 or 400, and from them only 20 people were later selected - all from fighter aviation.

Viktor Vasilyevich, you flew into space for the first time in 1969. Why so many years after joining the cosmonaut corps?

I was repeatedly included in one crew, then in another, but, you know, that’s how it happens - a tragic coincidence of circumstances. At the very last moment, the crew was changed, and they did not explain to us why. Or, for example, there was such a case. Cardiographic examination showed that I had minor disturbances in the functioning of my heart. This did not affect my health in any way, but I was temporarily removed from preparing for the flight. They put me in the hospital and began to figure out what was happening. However, all organs and systems worked normally - there was nothing to get attached to! Even the chief doctor of the Soviet Army examined me. Nothing! And only when the examination went into the second round, the otorhinolaryngologist paid attention to the palatine tonsils - there were pustules on them. “I wouldn’t advise anyone else to have their tonsils removed, as it can be treated, but you will have to,” said the doctor. I wanted to go into space so much that, without hesitation, I agreed to surgery. If there is even one chance in a thousand that it will help, it should be used. And the doctor turned out to be right: after the operation, all cardiograms showed normal.

And when the crews for Soyuz-6, Soyuz-7 and Soyuz-8 were being formed, during parachute training I landed unsuccessfully and broke my ankle. It was a great shame, especially since I had already made more than 120 of these jumps recently. The detachment commander came to the rescue: he assured the doctors that I would definitely recover, and I was included in the Soyuz-7 crew as a research engineer. So I started training with my leg still in a cast.

- Was it your first flight on Soyuz-7? And, in my opinion, it was on this flight that some extraordinary situation occurred?

Yes, I flew into space together with Anatoly Filipchenko and Vladislav Volkov. Our task was to dock with Soyuz-8. But the long-range approach system failed. We tried to dock manually, but nothing worked. And thank God! When Soyuz-8 passed us, its speed was such that upon docking there would have been nothing left of us!

Extraordinary situations arose every time. In 1977, I flew with Yuri Glazkov to the Salyut-5 station. This flight itself was very tense, since we were flying to a “poisoned” station. Boris Volynov and Vitaly Zholobov were here before us. They suddenly felt unwell and were immediately recalled. The flight program was never completed. After landing, rumors spread that the air in the station was allegedly poisoned. How else could one explain the reason for the unexpected deterioration in the health of the astronauts? Only after a while I realized that the guys then had a psychological breakdown. After this incident, Vyacheslav Zudov and Valery Rozhdestvensky flew to the station, but they were unable to dock with it. In addition, they landed in Lake Tengiz unplanned. In a word, complete failures! And in such a nervous atmosphere, we flew into space in order, firstly, to dock with the station, and secondly, to check whether it was “poisoned”, and if all was well, to carry out the flight program. We docked with the station, although this turned out to be very difficult. The necessary devices immediately failed. We had to dock under visual control. To say that the tension was enormous is to say nothing. Just as I inhaled at a distance of 70 meters from the station, I exhaled when we first docked. But then we felt such relief. But there was one more task ahead - to check the air in the station. Yura Glazkov swam to the station with indicator tubes, and while I was on the ship, I began to sniff to determine by the smell whether the air at the station was normal or not. I inhaled once, the second time - it seemed like nothing. I made up my mind: I swam to the station, I swam up to Yura and told him to take off his special gas mask. And then the indicator tubes showed that everything was fine.

But the troubles didn't end there. When the flight program was completed and we were already in the descent module, Vladimir Shatalov called us and, without explaining the reason, informed us that it was necessary to return to the station. We immediately began to make various assumptions, in particular about the malfunction of the ship. But it turned out that at that time the weather in Kazakhstan deteriorated, and the landing was postponed for a day.

But that's not all! When they landed, the descent apparatus lay on its side and pressed down the ribbon antenna, preventing it from opening. As a result, communication with us was lost. But we didn’t know this at first, we got out of the apparatus and began to wait. We waited an hour and started to freeze. We decided to climb back, but we no longer had any strength. I knelt down to help Yura and saw the antenna pressed down. I dismissed it, contact was resumed and we were found very quickly.

-Wasn’t it scary? Space after all!..

I kept thinking about how to complete the task assigned to us. There was great excitement, sometimes the tension went off scale, but there was no fear as such... No, there was no. I always believed that everything would end well. Faith gives a certain attitude that determines internal harmony. If it doesn’t exist, then a psychological breakdown is possible - and then, consider everything lost. And even when the ship’s orientation system turned off during one of the flights, he was not afraid. Although there was reason to be afraid. At that time, the oxygen on the ship would only last for five days.

- Mom prayed for you. After all, she is a believer.

I always knew that my mother was praying for me. I think her prayers saved me from trouble. And we ourselves, although we did not consider ourselves believers, often said to our colleagues, accompanying them into space: “God help us!”

- Tell me, do astronauts take icons with them into space?

When I was flying - no, of course. Then they started taking it. Alexey Leonov said that he personally handed over a small metal icon of the Mother of God, which the priest gave him, to his friends going to the orbital station. I also heard that in 2005 the Progress-M-54 cargo ship delivered a copy of the miraculous icon of the Valaam Mother of God to the International Space Station. Finally, this year the cosmonauts handed over to the chapel of the Baikonur microdistrict in Cheboksary an icon of St. George the Victorious, which had also been in space.

I cannot help but ask a question regarding the special training of astronauts. After all, when flying into space and returning to Earth, astronauts are probably subjected to terrible overloads? And after weightlessness they probably experience unpleasant sensations.

Now special training is being carried out, there are specific medications. This problem is being paid very serious attention. This didn't happen before. Although appropriate preparation, of course, was carried out. You haven't touched on one more topic - entering weightlessness. Those whose vestibular apparatus was naturally, as we say, “dull,” quickly got used to weightlessness. But many of us entered weightlessness with great difficulty.

Overload during the launch of a ship is, let’s say, normal for fighter pilots. When the device descends downwards, it can increase to 8g. This is already very noticeable. Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Makarov experienced peak overload due to the problem of orientation of the descent apparatus. She reached 20 g. Of course, only trained people could carry it. And then there were serious health problems.

The flight duration is a serious burden for the human body. Andrian Nikolaev and Vitaly Sevastyanov spent almost twenty days in space. In zero gravity, blood rushes to the head, which in itself is not very good. Faces become<квадратными>and crimson. And the longer it goes on, the worse it gets. After completing the program, Vitaly and Andrian’s health was serious. I also once had to stay in space for 18 days, but I was at a station where there is more space, and therefore more opportunities for movement. Vitaly and Andrian were flying in a ship and were significantly constrained in movement, which did not have the best effect on their health.

I remember that after the first flight I could not walk on my own. It feels like I have two people sitting on my shoulders, and the ground is constantly shifting away from under my feet. And when you lie down, such a weight falls on your chest that it becomes impossible to breathe and you feel like you’re about to fall through somewhere. One day I woke up at night and felt so clearly that my body had sunk that I involuntarily turned my head to see how deep it was! After the second flight, it was easier to get used to gravity, although it lasted much longer. But even after a while, when it seemed that the body had already adapted, problems still remained. For example, I always loved tennis, played a lot, and was even the champion of Star City. But after the flight, during the first game, I couldn’t hit the ball.

- You were prepared for landing on the lunar soil after the Americans?

Yes, there was a so-called<лунная программа>. It was supposed to go into lunar orbit, leave one person in the ship, and lower the other on the descent module to the surface of the Moon. After which, the astronaut had to go to the ground. We started training intensively. But then the program was closed. Presumably due to the fact that, according to the calculated trajectory of the ship, landing on Earth should have occurred in one of the regions of the Indian Ocean. If desired, it was probably possible to cope with this task, but, apparently, the management decided not to risk it.

Not long ago, rumors began to spread that the Americans allegedly had not been to the Moon, and all their documentary footage of the landing of US astronauts on the lunar soil was created on Earth.

There is no need to take these types of statements seriously. Americans have been to the moon. Otherwise, we would have known about this and would have immediately exposed all their plans. After all, we had very powerful observatories, equipped with special observation devices that made it possible to monitor everything that was happening in space. And then remember how the KGB worked with us! Our counterintelligence officers would never miss another opportunity to expose the Americans in lies!

- You also had a third flight into space?

After the second flight, my wife said: “You won’t fly again!” Soon I left with a group of scientists for Poland. I arrive, and Shatalov calls me: “You’ve been walking for a long time! You’ll fly with our colleague from the GDR! Get ready!” But that flight with Kelner never took place - Valery Bykovsky and Ian flew. And I flew later with the wonderful Vietnamese military pilot Pham Tuan. This was my third flight, and second as a crew commander. Then I didn’t fly anymore. Previously, three flights was the maximum.

- In space, do you ever miss Earth?

When you look at Earth from space, you really want to go back. Therefore, the joy of returning to Earth is always present. I remember how Pham Thuan’s face shone with happiness when we landed. Before that, he rarely even smiled, he was always focused, extremely attentive, and reserved. And there is so much open, childlike joy here! And upon our return, we are all filled with this feeling.

At the end of our conversation, I would like to ask you about Gagarin. There are a lot of memories about him. But still, I would like to hear about Gagarin, as they say, first-hand. You knew him well.

In a year and a half, it will be 50 years since Yuri Gagarin’s significant flight. Is it a joke to say: THE FIRST man in space! Until Yura returned from there, no one could say for sure whether a person could live and work in zero gravity or not. Yura proved that he can do it. God accepted the man! Gagarin knew perfectly well what he was doing, what a risk it was, how it could end, but he did not back down. A very brave man. And decent. Probably, there are no ideal people, but I can’t remember anything like that... Usually fame spoils people, especially THIS kind, but nothing like that happened here. I witnessed this! I’ll be honest: he was not just an excellent pilot and a good comrade, he was a real son of his Fatherland. It means so much. We wish we had more people like this.

USSR pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko was born on December 3, 1934 in the village of the Ventsy-Zarya state farm in the Gulkevichsky district of the Krasnodar Territory.

He graduated from the 8th military aviation school of initial pilot training in Pavlograd, Dnepropetrovsk region (Ukraine) in 1953, Bataysk Higher Military Aviation School named after. A.K. Serov (Rostov region) in 1956, Air Force Engineering Academy named after. NOT. Zhukovsky in 1968 with the qualification "pilot-engineer-cosmonaut".

From August 1956 he served as a pilot, from June 1957 to March 1960 - senior pilot of the 86th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 119th Fighter Aviation Division of the 48th Air Army of the Odessa Military District in Moldova.

Was married twice. The first marriage produced two daughters.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Viktor Vasilievich Gorbatko(born December 3, village of Ventsy-Zarya, Krasnodar Territory) - Soviet cosmonaut.

Biography

Born on December 3, 1934 in the village of Ventsy-Zarya, now Gulkevichsky district of the Krasnodar Territory. In 1953 he graduated from the Pavlograd Military Aviation School of Initial Pilot Training, and in 1956 from the Bataysk Military Aviation School of Pilots. Enlisted in the cosmonaut corps in 1960. In 1968 he graduated from the Air Force Engineering Academy named after N. E. Zhukovsky, and in 1987 he became the head of the faculty of this academy.

The first space flight took place on October 12-17, 1969 on the Soyuz-7 spacecraft (duration 4 days 23 hours). The second - in February 1977 on the Soyuz-24 spacecraft and the Salyut-5 orbital station. The third launch took place in July 1980 on the Soyuz-36, Soyuz-37 spacecraft and the Salyut-6 orbital station together with Vietnamese citizen Pham Tuan.

June 9 In 1970, he participated in the chess game “Space - Earth” - the first chess game in history played between astronauts in flight and “representatives of the Earth”. On Earth, the head of the training of Soviet cosmonauts, Colonel General of Aviation N.P. Kamanin and V.V. Gorbatko played in pairs, and in space - the crew of the Soyuz-9 spacecraft - A.G. Nikolaev and V.I. Sevastyanov . All participants were accepted as honorary members of the USSR Central Chess Club.

By the decision of the executive committee of the Tiraspol City Council of Workers' Deputies on April 12, 1974, cosmonaut Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko was awarded the title "Honorary Citizen of Tiraspol".

In 1974, he was elected chairman of the Central Board of the Soviet-Mongolian Friendship Society.

In December 1991, he was one of those who signed an appeal to the President of the USSR and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a proposal to convene an emergency Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.

On December 20, 2014, a secondary school in the village of Ventsy-Zarya was named after pilot-cosmonaut V.V. Gorbatko.

Awards

State awards

Awards from other countries

"Golden Star" of the Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic and the Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolian People's Republic,).
"Golden Star" of the Hero of Labor and the Order of Ho Chi Minh, 1st class (SRV,).
Order of the Red Banner of Battle (MPR,).
Medal "Brotherhood in Arms" (GDR,).
Medal "25 Years of People's Power" (NRB).
Medal "Brotherhood in Arms" (Poland).
Medal “40 Years of Liberation” (DPRK).
Medal "60 years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" ().
Medal “40 years of victory at Khalkhin Gol” (MPR, 1979).
Medal “50 years of victory at Khalkhin Gol” (MPR, 1989).
Medal “30 years of victory over Japanese militarists” (Mongolian People's Republic, ).

Public awards

Gorbatko in philately

The flights of the Soyuz-7, Soyuz-24 and Soyuz-37 spacecraft with the participation of Viktor Gorbatko were celebrated with the release of postage stamps.

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Notes

Literature

Vaks I. The President of the SFR is honored in the Krasnodar region // Philately. - 2004. - No. 2. - P. 3.
Vostrikov D.// Cosmonautics news. - 2003. - T. 13. - No. 6 (245). (Interview with V.V. Gorbatko on the magazine’s website).

Links

. Website "Heroes of the Country".

Heads of countries

Celebrities

Private individuals

On November 12, the Kutuzov military army, camped near Olmutz, was preparing for the next day to review the two emperors - Russian and Austrian. The guard, which had just arrived from Russia, spent the night 15 versts from Olmutz and the next day, right for the review, at 10 o’clock in the morning, entered the Olmutz field.
On this day, Nikolai Rostov received a note from Boris informing him that the Izmailovsky regiment was spending the night 15 miles short of Olmutz, and that he was waiting for him to give him a letter and money. Rostov especially needed money now that, having returned from the campaign, the troops stopped near Olmutz, and well-supplied sutlers and Austrian Jews, offering all kinds of temptations, filled the camp. The Pavlograd residents had feasts after feasts, celebrations of awards received for the campaign and trips to Olmutz to visit Caroline of Hungary, who had recently arrived there, who opened a tavern there with female servants. Rostov recently celebrated its production of cornets, bought Bedouin, Denisov's horse, and was in debt to his comrades and sutlers. Having received Boris's note, Rostov and his friend went to Olmutz, had lunch there, drank a bottle of wine and went alone to the guards camp to look for his childhood comrade. Rostov had not yet had time to get dressed. He was wearing a shabby cadet's jacket with a soldier's cross, the same leggings lined with worn leather, and an officer's saber with a lanyard; the horse he rode on was a Don horse, bought on a campaign from a Cossack; the hussar's crumpled cap was pulled back and to one side in a jaunty manner. Approaching the camp of the Izmailovsky regiment, he thought about how he would amaze Boris and all his fellow guardsmen with his shelled combat hussar appearance.
The guard went through the entire campaign as if on a festivities, flaunting their cleanliness and discipline. The crossings were short, the backpacks were carried on carts, and the Austrian authorities prepared excellent dinners for the officers at all crossings. The regiments entered and left the cities with music, and throughout the campaign (of which the guards were proud), by order of the Grand Duke, people walked in step, and the officers walked in their places. Boris walked and stood with Berg, now the company commander, throughout the campaign. Berg, having received a company during the campaign, managed to earn the trust of his superiors with his diligence and accuracy and arranged his economic affairs very profitably; During the campaign, Boris made many acquaintances with people who could be useful to him, and through a letter of recommendation he brought from Pierre, he met Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, through whom he hoped to get a place on the headquarters of the commander-in-chief. Berg and Boris, cleanly and neatly dressed, having rested after the last day's march, sat in the clean apartment assigned to them in front of the round table and played chess. Berg held a smoking pipe between his knees. Boris, with his characteristic accuracy, placed the checkers in a pyramid with his white thin hands, waiting for Berg to make a move, and looked at his partner’s face, apparently thinking about the game, as he always thought only about what he was doing.
- Well, how will you get out of this? - he said.
“We’ll try,” Berg answered, touching the pawn and lowering his hand again.
At this time the door opened.
“Here he is, finally,” Rostov shouted. - And Berg is here! Oh, petisanfant, ale cushe dormir, [Children, go to bed,] he shouted, repeating the words of the nanny, which he and Boris had once laughed at.
- Fathers! how you have changed! - Boris stood up to meet Rostov, but while getting up, he did not forget to support and put in place the falling chess and wanted to hug his friend, but Nikolai moved away from him. With that special feeling of youth, which is afraid of the beaten path, wants, without imitating others, to express its feelings in a new way, in its own way, if only not in the way the elders express it, often feignedly, Nikolai wanted to do something special when meeting with a friend : he wanted to somehow pinch, push Boris, but just not kiss him, as everyone else did. Boris, on the contrary, calmly and friendlyly hugged and kissed Rostov three times.
They didn't see each other for almost six months; and at that age when young people take their first steps on the path of life, both found in each other enormous changes, completely new reflections of the societies in which they took their first steps in life. Both had changed a lot since their last date, and both wanted to quickly show each other the changes that had taken place in them.
- Oh, you damn polishers! Clean, fresh, as if from a party, not that we are sinners, army people,” Rostov said with new baritone sounds in his voice and army grip, pointing to his mud-splattered leggings.
The German hostess leaned out of the door at Rostov’s loud voice.
- What, pretty? - he said with a wink.
- Why are you shouting like that! “You’ll scare them,” Boris said. “I wasn’t expecting you today,” he added. - Yesterday, I just gave you a note through one of my acquaintances, Kutuzovsky’s adjutant - Bolkonsky. I didn’t think that he would deliver it to you so soon... Well, how are you? Already fired upon? – asked Boris.
Rostov, without answering, shook the soldier’s St. George’s Cross hanging on the strings of his uniform, and, pointing to his tied hand, looked at Berg, smiling.
“As you can see,” he said.
- That's how it is, yes, yes! – Boris said, smiling, “and we also made a nice trip.” After all, you know, His Highness always rode with our regiment, so we had all the comforts and all the benefits. In Poland, what kind of receptions there were, what kind of dinners, balls - I can’t tell you. And the Tsarevich was very merciful to all our officers.

Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko, whose biography is closely connected with space, is an engineer and researcher who worked on the Soyuz-7 spacecraft. Chief President of the Philatelic Society.

Family, childhood

Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko was born on December 3, 1934 in the Krasnodar Territory, in the village of Ventsy-Zarya. Now this is the Gulkevichi district. By nationality - Russian. His family was simple. Father, Vasily Pavlovich, worked as a veterinarian at a stud farm. Mother, Matryona Alexandrovna, worked on a collective farm. Viktor Vasilyevich spent his childhood and school years in the village of Voskhod, which was built from a stud farm.

Education

Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich graduated from high school. In 1952 he was called up for military service in the army. Viktor Vasilyevich received a referral to aviation. At first he studied at the Pavlograd aviation school for primary pilot training. He graduated from it in 1953.

Then in 1956 he entered the Bataysk Military Aviation School named after. Serova. Viktor Vasilyevich did not stop there and entered the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy. Studied at the Faculty of Engineering. Graduated from the academy in 1968.

Ranks

From 1956 to 1960 Viktor Vasilyevich - twenty-first cosmonaut and senior pilot of the 86th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 119th Division of the Odessa District. From 1960 to 1982 - cosmonaut. Since 1970 - deputy commander of the space detachment, and since 1971 - commander and deputy head of the Cosmonaut Center. Since 1974 - instructor-cosmonaut. Since 1976 - head of the special-purpose cosmonaut detachment. Since 1978 - senior instructor of space pilots.

In the eighty-second year, Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko was appointed deputy chairman of the Sports Committee of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union. From 1987 to 1992 - head of the faculty of the Academy. Zhukovsky (correspondence department). In 1992, he completed his service in aviation and retired with the rank of reserve major general.

"Space Career"

Gorbatko was enlisted in the corps of pilot-cosmonauts in 1960. He made three flights into orbit. Viktor Vasilyevich made his first flight on the Soyuz-7 spacecraft in 1969. The flight lasted four days and twenty-three hours. Viktor Vasilievich departed as a research engineer. During the flight, maneuvering and rapprochement of 3 ships took place.

The second spacewalk was in 1977 on Soyuz-24 and the fifth orbital station. This time Viktor Vasilyevich was the head of the spacecraft and Salyut-5 (station in orbit). The flight lasted seventeen days and seventeen hours.

The third flight took place in 1980 on the Soyuz-36 (and 37) and Salyut-6 (sixth orbital station) spacecraft. Viktor Vasilyevich was in the position of commander. The flight was carried out jointly with the Vietnamese Pham Tuan.

For all three flights into space, the total time spent in low-Earth orbit was 30 days, 12 hours. and 48 min. Three times he was in backup crews.

Social activity

Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich was engaged in public educational work. He was the head and board member of many organizations. For example, the president of several societies (Mongolia, friendship between the Russian Federation and Abkhazia). He also chaired the Union of Philatelists of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. From 1989 to 1992 was a deputy of the Soviet Union. In 1995 and 1999 tried to run for State Duma deputy, but he didn’t succeed. During this period, he was an adviser to the deputy chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

Awards and achievements

Viktor Vasilyevich (pilot-cosmonaut) was a repeated champion of Star City in tennis and chess. The flights of all Soyuz spacecraft (7,24 and 37), in which Gorbatko took part, were noted separately. Each flight was accompanied by the release of a separate series of postage stamps.

Among state awards he has six different medals and ten anniversary awards, five orders. From other states, Gorbatko was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Battle and fifteen medals for various services. Separately, it is worth highlighting the Russian public medal for the development of Russian collecting.

Viktor Vasilievich Gorbatko in philately

In 1988, the fifth Plenum of the Philatelic Society (SPS) took place. At it, Viktor Vasilyevich was elected by a majority vote as chairman and active member of the presidium of this organization. In 1989, at the sixth congress of the All-Russian Federation, Gorbatko became chairman of the Central Board of the Philatelic Union.

At the third congress of the SFR, which took place in 2001, Viktor Vasilyevich was elected by a majority vote as president of the Union of Philatelists of the Russian Federation. And on December 12 of the same year he received the prefix “Honorary” to this title.

Personal life

Gorbatko Viktor Vasilievich was married twice. Both of his wives worked in the medical field. The first wife, Valentina Pavlovna Ordynskaya, worked as a gynecologist in a regular clinic. In this marriage they had daughters Irina and Marina. Both received economic education. The second time Gorbatko married Alla Viktorovna, who works as a pediatrician.