humanoidhistory:R.I.P. Valery Kubasov (Вале́рий Куба́сов), the Russian cosmonaut best known for hi
humanoidhistory: R.I.P. Valery Kubasov (Вале́рий Куба́сов), the Russian cosmonaut best known for his participation in the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission. He passed away on February 19, 2014, at the age of 79. Here are some fun facts about his amazing life culled from various obituaries: “Kubasov, twice named Hero of the Soviet Union, flew in space three times, including on the historic Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975 that saw an American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with one another.” (RIA Novosti) “The cosmonauts and the astronauts — Brig. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford, and Deke Slayton and Vance D. Brand, both civilians — spent 44 hours together, exchanging gifts and conducting scientific experiments, while their spacecraft were linked.” (New York Times) “Later, at a space-to-ground conference attended by both crews, he expressed his hope as an engineer that their work would pave the way for a time “when space will have whole plants, factories, for the production of new materials.” (The Telegraph) “On his first space mission, aboard Soyuz 6 in October 1969, he carried out the first vacuum welding in space, fusing different types of metals with an electric gun to set the stage for extensive welding work on future missions in zero gravity.” (NYT) Kubasov was “reported to have broken out in a medley of songs during that mission, seemingly out of character, bringing laughter from the craft’s commander, Lt. Col. Georgi Shonin.” (NYT) Of the Earth, he said “there is nothing more beautiful than our blue planet.” (The Telegraph) “Mr. Kubasov’s third and final space mission came in spring 1980, when he joined with Bertalan Farkas, the first Hungarian in space, on a docking with the Soviet Union’s Salyut 6 orbiting station.” (NYT) His wife described him as “calm, restrained, not excitable.” (NYT) “Kubasov, originally trained as an engineer, remained active as a manager and technical consultant in Russian space projects in the post-Soviet era.” (RIA Novosti) Please note: In the two-shot photos, he is pictured with fellow cosmonaut Aleksei A. Leonov. (Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) -- source link