Poland’s only cosmonaut, General Mirosław Hermaszewski, who circled the Earth in a Soviet spacecraft in 1978, has died. He was 81 years old.
The death of the retired Air Force pilot on Monday was announced via Twitter by his son-in-law, MEP Ryszard Czarnecki. He then told Polish media that Hermaszewski died in a Warsaw hospital following surgery he underwent in the morning.
“On behalf of the family, I confirm the very sad news of the death of General Mirosław Hermaszewski”, Czarnecki tweetedcalling him “a great pilot, good husband and father, and beloved grandfather”.
Hermaszewski became a national hero thanks to his trip to space. For nine days in June and July 1978, he and Soviet cosmonaut Pyotr Klimuk circled the Earth in the Soyuz 30 spacecraft which docked with the Salyut 6 orbital space station. They circled 126 times. world Tour.
In a 2018 interview with Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Hermaszewski said his biggest fear during the flight was that their spacecraft would be hit by a meteor. His and Klimuk’s senses were heightened, picking up even the smallest sound, he said.
Hermaszewski traveled to space as part of the Soviet Union’s Intercosmos program, which provided an opportunity to explore space for the then Eastern Bloc countries under the rule of Moscow or who had ties to the Soviets.
The first person to take off under the program was Vladimír Remek of then Czechoslovakia in March 1978. Hermaszewski followed, while Sigmund Jähn of then East Germany was the third to fly this that year. They had all trained at the Star City spaceflight preparation center outside Moscow.
Other countries that provided cosmonauts included Hungary, Bulgaria, Cuba, Vietnam, Mongolia, Romania, Syria, Afghanistan and India. France then participated in the program by sending Jean-Loup Chrétien in 1982.
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