Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov is a retired Soviet Air Force major general, pilot-cosmonaut, artist, and five-flight space veteran. His career ranged from early Salyut visiting missions to the dramatic Soyuz T-13 rescue of Salyut 7.
- Born
- May 13, 1942
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Iskandar,Soviet Union
Flights
5
Spacewalks
2
EVA time
8 hours, 35 minutes
In space
145 days, 15 hours, 56 minutes
Bio
Dzhanibekov trained as a military pilot and instructor before selection to the Soviet cosmonaut corps in 1970. He brought Air Force command experience into a program that increasingly depended on precise docking, station operations, and international visiting crews.
He flew short-duration missions to Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 on Soyuz 27, Soyuz 39, Soyuz T-6, and Soyuz T-12, commanding crews that included Mongolian, French, and other Soviet partners. Those flights made him one of the most experienced Soviet visiting-crew .
His best-known mission was Soyuz T-13 in 1985, when he and Viktor Savinykh manually rendezvoused with the powerless Salyut 7 station and brought it back to life. The flight included two and helped preserve Soviet station operations at a critical moment.