First foreign astronauts visited Yuri Gagarin’s native land
In the framework of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the start of the earliest space explorer astronauts and cosmonauts from all over the world visited the city of Gagarin.
Cosmonauts, including Franz Artur Viehböck (Austria), Helen Patricia Sharman (Great Britain), Mirosław Hermaszewski (Poland) and Rona Ramon, widowed wife of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon came to the native land of Yuri Gagarin.
The delegation was escorted by a space pilot of the USSR, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, a retired Major-General of the Air force, person awarded the order of the Legion of Honour Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov. He made five flights: «Soyuz 27» (expedition to the orbiting station «Salyut -6»), «Soyuz 39» (expedition to the station «Salyut -6»), «Soyuz T-6» (expedition to the station «Salyut -7»), «Soyuz T-12» (expedition to the station «Salyut -7») and «Soyuz T-13».
The cosmonauts were greeted with bread- and- salt at the porch of the Administration of the Gagarin district. Then Head of the Administration Vladimir Ivanov welcomed the guests. After talking and having tea the Head presented the cosmonauts with souvenirs.
Cosmonauts from abroad laid flowers to the monument to Yuri Gagarin, saw the expositions of the House-museum of the school years of the first cosmonaut of the planet, House-museum of his parents, House of cosmonauts. Then the guests proceeded to Yuri Gagarin’s home-land – the village of Klushino. They drank some water from the well at their house and visited the museum.
Together with the cosmonauts a group of deaf-and-dumb children from Smolensk took part in the excursions. For them the excursion to the native land of the first cosmonaut of the Earth was very impressive. It turned out to be an unforgettable present.
Additional information:
First cosmonaut of Poland Mirosław Hermaszewski is a retired Polish Air Force officer, Hero of the Soviet Union. Being a member of the expedition to the orbiting station « Salyut -6» he flew aboard the Soyuz 30 spacecraft in 1978.
First astronaut of Great Britain Helen Patricia Sharman together with the crew of the 9th expedition visited the Mir space station aboard Soyuz TM-12 in 1991. Helen Sharman landed aboard the Soyuz TM-11 with the 8th expedition.
First astronaut of Austria Franz Viehböck visited the Mir space station in October, 1991 aboard the Soyuz TM-13 as a member of the 10th long-term expedition. October 10, the same year, he returned aboard the Soyuz TM-12.
First Israeli astronaut died in the re-entry accident of the space shuttle «Columbia» on, February 1, 2003.