An astronaut 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 reserved for professional space travelers, the term is sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists.
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Travelling in the Vostok 1 capsule, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961. By achieving this major milestone in the Space Race he became an international celebrity, and was awarded many medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, his nation's highest honour.
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is a Russian engineer, member of the State Duma, and former Soviet cosmonaut, being the first woman ever to fly in space. She is known for being the first and youngest woman in space, having flown a solo mission on the Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. She orbited the Earth 48 times, spent almost three days in space, and remains the only woman to have been on a solo space mission.
Valery Fyodorovich Bykovsky was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on three space flights: Vostok 5, Soyuz 22, and Soyuz 31. He was also backup for Vostok 3 and Soyuz 37.
Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut, Air Force major general, writer, and artist. On 18 March 1965, he became the first person to conduct a spacewalk, exiting the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission for 12 minutes and 9 seconds. He was also selected to be the first Soviet person to land on the Moon although the project was cancelled.
Valery Nikolaevich Kubasov was a Soviet/Russian cosmonaut who flew on two missions in the Soyuz programme as a flight engineer: Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 19, and commanded Soyuz 36 in the Intercosmos programme. On 21 July 1975, the Soyuz 7K-TM module used for ASTP landed in Kazakhstan at 5:51 p.m. and Kubasov was the first to exit the craft. Kubasov performed the first welding experiments in space, along with Georgy Shonin.
Soyuz 11 was the only crewed mission to board the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The crew, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, arrived at the space station on 7 June 1971, and departed on 29 June 1971. The mission ended in disaster when the crew capsule depressurised during preparations for re-entry, killing the three-man crew. The three crew members of Soyuz 11 are the only humans to have died in space.
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.
Space Adventures, Inc. is an American space tourism company founded in 1998 by Eric C. Anderson. Its offerings include zero-gravity atmospheric flights, orbital spaceflights, and other spaceflight-related experiences including cosmonaut training, spacewalk training, and launch tours. Plans announced thus far include sub-orbital and lunar spaceflights, though these are not being actively pursued at present. Nine of its clients have participated in the orbital spaceflight program with Space Adventures, including one who took two separate trips to space.
Charles Simonyi is a Hungarian-American software architect. He started and led Microsoft's applications group, where he built the first versions of Microsoft Office.
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez is a Cuban military officer, legislator, and former cosmonaut and the first person of African heritage in space. In 1980, as a member of the crew of Soyuz 38, he became the first Cuban citizen, the first Latin American, the first person of African descent, and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the United States to travel into Earth orbit.
Soyuz 35 was a 1980 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the 10th mission to and eighth successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz 35 crew were the fourth long-duration crew to man the space station.
Soyuz 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-duration Soyuz 35 resident crew.
Farkas is a Hungarian surname or a given name; the latter corresponds in the Catholic tradition to the German name Wolfgang.
Béla Magyari was a colonel in the Hungarian Air Force. He graduated from the György Kilián Air Force Academy in 1969.
Spaceflight participant is the term used by NASA, Roscosmos, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for people who travel into space, but are not professional astronauts.
Pyotr Ivanovich Kolodin was a Soviet cosmonaut. Although he retired in 1983 without flying in space, Kolodin served non-flying assignments on several spaceflights.
Hungarian Astronautical Society abbreviated as MANT is a non-profit organization focusing on educational and informative activities on space science, founded in 1986.
The association considers itself a successor of the Astronautical Committee of the association called Scientific Lyceum, founded in 1956; and the Central Astronautical Section of the Federation of Technological and Sciences Associations .
Members of the Society are space researchers, other professionals concerned in space related fields and others interested in the interdisciplinary and state-of-the-art uses of outer space.
György P. Bulányi was a Piarist priest, teacher, and leader of the Bokor Catholic youth discipleship movements in Croatia and Hungary which faced strong suppression from the Hungarian communist government and Catholic hierarchy for their advocacy of conscientious objection.
