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Intercosmos
Intercosmos was a space exploration program of
the Soviet Union designed to include members of military forces of
allied Warsaw Pact countries in manned and unmanned missions. The
participation of countries which were not Soviet allies, such as
India, Syria and France was a reflection of non-aligned politics
during the Cold War.
Begun in April 1967 with unmanned research
satellite missions, the first manned mission occurred in February
1978. Intercosmos missions enabled 14 non-Soviet cosmonauts to
participate in Soyuz space flights between 1978 and 1988. The
program was responsible for sending into space the first citizen of
a country other than the USA or USSR; Vladimir Remek of
Czechoslovakia. Intercosmos also resulted in the first black and
hispanic person in space, Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez of Cuba, and the
first Asian person in space, Phm Tuan of Vietnam. Of the countries
involved, only Bulgaria sent two cosmonauts in space.
Soyuz 38
Soyuz 38 was a human spaceflight mission
conducted by the Soviet Union during September, 1980. The Soyuz
spacecraft brought two visiting crew members to the Salyut 6 space
station, one of whom was an Intercosmos cosmonaut from Cuba.
Commander Yuri Romanenko
Second spaceflight
Soviet Union Soviet Union
Research Cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez
First spaceflight
Cuba Cuba
[edit] Backup crew
Position Crew
Commander Yevgeni Khrunov
Soviet Union Soviet Union
Research Cosmonaut Jose Armando Lopez Falcon
* Mass: 6800 kg
* Perigee: 199.7 km
* Apogee: 273.5 km
* Inclination: 51.63°
* Period: 88.194 minutes
12th expedition to Salyut 6. 7th international crew. Carried
Intercosmos cosmonaut from Cuba. The Soyuz 38 docking occurred in
darkness. As the spacecraft approached Salyut 6, the Dniepers could
see only its “headlights.” Ryumin filmed ignition and
operation of the transport’s main engine. Arnaldo Tamayo
Mendez of Cuba and Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko docked without
incident.
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