Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov
Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov was a Soviet Air Force colonel and cosmonaut who commanded three spaceflights across Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir. His record includes a 175-day endurance mission and the flight that carried Afghanistan's first cosmonaut.
- Born
- July 20, 1941
- Died
- April 19, 2018
- Birthplace
- Antratsyt,Soviet Union
Flights
3
Spacewalks
N/A
EVA time
N/A
In space
333 days, 7 hours, 47 minutes
Bio
Lyakhov trained as a military pilot before selection to the Soviet cosmonaut corps in 1967. Like several Air Force cosmonauts of his generation, he shifted from pilot-centered spacecraft work into the long-duration station era.
His first mission, Soyuz 32, launched with Valery Ryumin to Salyut 6 in 1979. After Soyuz 33 failed to dock, an uncrewed Soyuz 34 was sent as their return vehicle, allowing Lyakhov and Ryumin to complete a record-setting 175-day stay.
Lyakhov later commanded Soyuz T-9 to Salyut 7 and Soyuz TM-6 to Mir. The Mir visiting mission carried Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan in space, and ended with a tense return sequence on Soyuz TM-5 before a safe landing.