Pyotr Klimuk
Encyclopedia
Pyotr Ilyich KlimukPyotr Ilyich Klimuk ' onMouseout='HidePop("86012")' href="/topics/Brest_Raion">Kamaroŭka
, Brest Voblast
, Byelorussian SSR
, is a former Soviet
cosmonaut
and the first Belarusian
to perform space travel. Klimuk made three flights into space.
Klimuk attended the Leninski Komsomol Chernigov High Aviation School and entered the Soviet Air Force
in 1964. The following year, he was selected to join the space programme.
His first flight was a long test flight on Soyuz 13
in 1973. This was followed by a mission to the Salyut 4
space station
on Soyuz 18
in 1975.
From 1976 he became involved in the Intercosmos
and made his third and final spaceflight on an Intercosmos flight with Polish
cosmonaut Mirosław Hermaszewski
on Soyuz 30
.
He resigned from the cosmonaut team in 1978 to take up a position as the Assistant to the Chief of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. In 1991 he was promoted to Chief of that facility and remained in that post until retirement in 2003.
Klimuk is a graduate of the Gagarin Air Force Academy
and the Lenin Military Political Academy.
He is the author of two books on human spaceflight: Beside the Stars, and Attack on Weightlessness.
Brest Raion
Brest Raion is an administrative subdivision, a raion of Brest Voblast, in Belarus.- External links :*...
, Brest Voblast
Brest Voblast
Brest Voblast or Brest Oblast is a province of Belarus with its administrative center being Brest.Important cities within the voblast' include: Baranovichi, Brest, and Pinsk.-Geography:...
, Byelorussian SSR
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. It was one of the four original founding members of the Soviet Union in 1922, together with the Ukrainian SSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
, is a former Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
cosmonaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
and the first Belarusian
Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
to perform space travel. Klimuk made three flights into space.
Klimuk attended the Leninski Komsomol Chernigov High Aviation School and entered the Soviet Air Force
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
in 1964. The following year, he was selected to join the space programme.
His first flight was a long test flight on Soyuz 13
Soyuz 13
Soyuz 13 was a 1973 Soviet manned space flight, the second test flight of the redesigned Soyuz 7K-T spacecraft that first flew as Soyuz 12. The spacecraft was specially modified to carry the Orion 2 Space Observatory...
in 1973. This was followed by a mission to the Salyut 4
Salyut 4
Salyut 4 was a Salyut space station launched on December 26, 1974 into an orbit with an apogee of 355 km, a perigee of 343 km and an orbital inclination of 51.6 degrees. It was essentially a copy of the DOS 3, and unlike its ill-fated sibling it was a complete success...
space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
on Soyuz 18
Soyuz 18
Soyuz 18 was a 1975 Soviet manned mission to Salyut 4, the second and final crew to man the space station. Pyotr Klimuk and Vitali Sevastyanov set a new Soviet space endurance record of 63 days and the mark for most people in space simultaneously was tied during the mission.-Crew:-Backup...
in 1975.
From 1976 he became involved in the Intercosmos
Intercosmos
Interkosmos was a space program of the Soviet Union designed to include members of military forces of allied Warsaw Pact countries in manned and unmanned missions...
and made his third and final spaceflight on an Intercosmos flight with Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
cosmonaut Mirosław Hermaszewski
Miroslaw Hermaszewski
Mirosław Hermaszewski , is a retired Polish Air Force officer. He became the first Pole in space when he flew aboard the Soyuz 30 spacecraft in 1978.-Early life:...
on Soyuz 30
Soyuz 30
Soyuz 30 was a 1978 manned Soviet space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the sixth mission to and fifth successful docking at the orbiting facility...
.
He resigned from the cosmonaut team in 1978 to take up a position as the Assistant to the Chief of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. In 1991 he was promoted to Chief of that facility and remained in that post until retirement in 2003.
Klimuk is a graduate of the Gagarin Air Force Academy
Gagarin Air Force Academy
Gagarin Air Force Academy is the name of a Russian military aviation academy located in Monino , Moscow Region.Gagarin Air Force Academy is one of the leading military educational institutions preparing high ranking military personnel for the Russian Air Force.Among the academy alumni are around...
and the Lenin Military Political Academy.
He is the author of two books on human spaceflight: Beside the Stars, and Attack on Weightlessness.
Honours and awards
- Hero of the Soviet UnionHero of the Soviet UnionThe title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
, twice (1973, 1975) - Order of Merit for the FatherlandOrder of Merit for the FatherlandThe Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
;- 3rd class (2 March 2000) - a great service to the state in the development of manned space flight
- 4th class (1996)
- Three Orders of Lenin (1973, 1975, 1978)
- Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class (1984)
- Medal "For merits in space" (12 April 2011) - for the great achievements in the field of research, development and use of outer space, many years of diligent work, public activities
- Order "For Service to Motherland, 2nd class (Belarus, July 15, 2002) - for services to develop and strengthen scientific, technological and military cooperation between Belarus and the Russian Federation
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (Belarus) (16 July 2007) - for his significant contribution to strengthening the friendly relations and cooperation between Belarus and the Russian Federation
- Cross of GrunwaldCross of GrunwaldOrder Krzyża Grunwaldu 1943-1960, Krzyż Grunwaldu 1960-1992 was a military decoration created in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a World War II Polish resistance movement in Poland organised by the Polish Workers Party...
, 1st class (NDP, 1978) - Order of ParasatOrder of ParasatThe Order of Parasat is an order awarded by the government of Kazakhstan. It was established in 1993.The order is awarded to notable figures in the fields of science, culture, literature and art, as well as statesmen and public figures, defenders of human rights, and others who have contributed to...
(Kazakhstan, 1995) - Officer of the Legion of Honour (France, 2004)
- Medal, "Brotherhood in Arms", twice (Poland)
- Medal "For the strengthening of friendship in Arms", 1st class (Czechoslovakia)
- Medal "100th anniversary of the fall of the Ottoman yoke" (NRB)
- Medal "from the grateful people of Afghanistan" (1988)
- USSR State PrizeUSSR State PrizeThe USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
(1978) - for his work on medical justification and implementation of complex methods and means of preventing the adverse effects of weightlessness on the human body, allowing for the possibility of prolonged manned space flights - Lenin Komsomol PrizeLenin Komsomol PrizeLenin Komsomol Prize was a Soviet annual award for the best works in science, engineering, literature or art carried out by young authors of age not exceeding 33 years...
(1978) - script for the documentary "Common Space" - Tsiolkovski Gold Medal
- Gagarin Gold Medal
- Gold Medal from the Polish Academy of SciencesPolish Academy of SciencesThe Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
- Honorary citizen of the cities of KalugaKalugaKaluga is a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: It is served by Grabtsevo Airport.-History:...
, Gagarin, and Dzhezkasgan