Vladimir Remek (REMEK Vladimir)

The first and so far the only Czech astronaut. Born September 26, 1948 in the town of Ceske Budejovice. Ibid, in 1954 began to attend primary school. In 1962 - 1963 he studied in the nine-year school in the city of Brno, which came after graduating from the Physico-mathematical department secondary school in the city of Czeslaw. He graduated with distinction in 1966. In school, fascinated aviamodelizmom and sports, not once spoken in the district finals sports youth. The desire to fly became influenced by his father - a military pilot. After school, he applied for admission to Higher Aviation School in Kosice. I successfully passed the entrance exams and for four years was trained to fly. Fly training jets L-29, mastered the techniques of piloting a supersonic aircraft. In the years of study proved to be a capable and disciplined pilot.

In 1970 he graduated from college and was sent to serve in Zvolen air unit. Within two years he served in the Czech air force, was qualified as a pilot of the second class. In early 1972, was sent to study at the Air Force Academy named after Yury Gagarin of the Soviet Union. After graduating from the preparatory course, September 1, 1972 began his studies at the Academy. He graduated from the academy in 1976 and continued to serve in the aviation wing of the Czechoslovak People's Army. At the end of that year, together with other Czechoslovak pilots Oldrich PELCZAK was selected for training to fly into space aboard the Soviet spacecraft program Intercosmos. In December 1976 began training at the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yury Gagarin. It has been a crash course in training for space flight on board of "Soyuz" and orbital station "Salyut-6". His space flight made from 2 to 10 March 1978, along with Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Alexandrovich Gubareva as a cosmonaut-researcher spacecraft "Soyuz-28". Within seven days, the astronauts have worked aboard the orbital station Salyut-6 "along with the main crew, Yuri Viktorovich Romanenko and Georgi Grechko. Length of stay in space was 7 days 22 hours 16 minutes.

After space flight returned to. The first time the party leadership of Czechoslovakia used it as a "wedding general", inviting the Bureau of celebrations. Then buzz around the name Remek began to subside and he was able to do other work. As the hero of the cosmos in 1979 was appointed deputy head of one of the SRI. However, it soon became clear that Remek lacks the knowledge or experience for this position and he was transferred to serve in the Main Political Directorate of the Army. But even there he could not find his place and returned to flight operations. After the revolution of 1989 was dismissed from the army and several years headed the Air and Space Museum in Prague. He currently lives and works in Moscow.

Hero of the Soviet Union (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 16 March 1978. Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (Decree of the President of Czechoslovakia on 16 March 1978). He was awarded the Soviet Order of Lenin, the Czechoslovak Order of Klement Gottwald, the Czechoslovak Medal "For Service to the Motherland". Awarded the Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

Author of several books about his space flight.