Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko (Russian: Ви́ктор Васи́льевич Горба́тко; December 3, 1934 – May 17, 2017) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7, Soyuz 24, and Soyuz 37 missions.
Soyuz 7 was a joint mission with Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 8 that saw three spacecraft in orbit together at the same time. The mission was to dock with Soyuz 8 and transfer crew. Docking to Soyuz 8 failed so the mission was aborted. The mission was Commanded by Anatoly Filipchenko, Flight Engineer Vladislav Volkov, and Research Engineer Viktor Gorbatko.
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz 24 was the last crewed flight to the Salyut 5 military space station. The mission began on February 7, 1977, 16:11 UTC, launching Commander Viktor Gorbatko and Flight Engineer Yuri Glazkov into orbit. They docked with the station the next day, where they partially replaced station's atmosphere, as it was presumed that toxic fumes contributed to deteriorated health of the Soyuz 21 crew. Gorbatko and Glazkov fininshed the research started by the previous expedition. This was the final flight to a military Salyut station and the final all-military crew to be launched by Soviets. Soyuz 24 returned to Earth with a safe landing on February 25, 1977, 09:38 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz 36 was the ninth mission to visit the Salyut 6 space station and carried the EP-5 crew, which visited the long-duration Soyuz 35 resident crew. The mission began on May 26, 1980, 18:20:39 UTC, launching Commander Valery Kubasov and Research Cosmonaut Bertalan Farkas, the first Hungarian cosmonaut, into orbit. They docked with the station the next day. During their 7-day stay on the station, EP-5 crew conducted various scientific experiments, including measuring radiation doses received by the crew. Soyuz 36 swapped vehicles with the resident station crew, and returned in Soyuz 35 spacecraft. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on June 3, 1980, 15:06 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz 37 was the 11th mission to visit the Salyut 6 space station and carried the the EP-7 crew, which visited the long-duration Soyuz 35 resident crew. The mission began on July 23, 1980, 18:33:03 UTC, launching Commander Viktor Gorbatko and Research Cosmonaut Pham Tuân, the first Viatnamese cosmonaut, into orbit. They docked with the station the next day. During their 7-day stay on the station, EP-7 crew carried out some experiments. They also swapped vehicles with the resident station crew, and returned in Soyuz 36 spacecraft. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on October 11, 1980, 09:49:57 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitThe Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of the Russian Federation and general aerospace research. Soyuz has many launch locations the Russian sites are Baikonur, Plesetsk and Vostochny however Ariane also purchases the vehicle and launches it from French Guiana.