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| Valeri Kubasov | |
|---|---|
| Name | Valeri Kubasov |
| Native name | Валерий Кубасов |
| Birth date | 1935-01-07 |
| Birth place | Bezhitsa, Bryansk Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Death date | 2014-02-19 |
| Occupation | Flight engineer, cosmonaut, aerospace engineer |
| Nationality | Soviet Union, Russia |
Valeri Kubasov (7 January 1935 – 19 February 2014) was a Soviet and Russian flight engineer and cosmonaut who participated in pioneering long-duration missions and international space cooperation. He served as flight engineer on several Soyuz spacecraft and played technical and managerial roles linking institutions across the Soviet aerospace establishment and later Russian space agencies. Kubasov's career connected key programs, designers, and political events of Cold War and post‑Cold War spaceflight.
Born in Bezhitsa, Bryansk Oblast, Kubasov grew up during the era of Soviet Union industrialization and wartime reconstruction, later moving to pursue higher education in engineering. He graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute with a degree in aircraft engineering, studying alongside peers from institutes such as the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy, and the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center network. During his studies he engaged with research topics connected to design bureaus like the OKB-1 led by Sergei Korolev and the Energia development teams associated with Vladimir Chelomey and Vladimir Keldysh-era institutes. His academic formation linked him to ministries including the Ministry of General Machine Building and technical commissions that oversaw projects involving the Soyuz family and experimental programs coordinated with the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
Kubasov completed military service consistent with the Soviet Air Force training pipelines and obtained qualifications relevant to crewed spaceflight selection panels chaired by figures from TsKBEM and the Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC). He was selected as a cosmonaut candidate during a period when selection boards included representatives from the Centre NII-1 and the State Commission for Flight Testing. His training itinerary included simulations in neutral buoyancy facilities used by organizations such as the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and practical flight systems familiar from collaborations with the RKK Energia design bureau. He underwent survival training in coordination with units from the Soviet Navy and processed medical evaluations associated with the Institute of Biomedical Problems and leading physiologists linked to Yuri Korolev-era research.
Kubasov flew as flight engineer on multiple crewed missions that advanced the Soyuz programme, the Salyut programme, and the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project. His missions included flights to space stations developed under the Salyut lineage and cooperative operations with NASA during the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project docking in 1975, which involved crews and officials from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Roscosmos predecessors, and delegations led by figures from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He contributed to long-duration missions that tested life-support systems designed by engineering teams at TsKBEM and implemented hardware from manufacturers such as NPO Energomash and NII KP. During rendezvous and docking operations he coordinated with mission control centers including Yevpatoria Deep Space Communications Center-linked facilities and flight controllers from the Mission Control Center (TsUP), interacting with colleagues such as Anatoly Filipchenko, Vladimir Shatalov, and international astronauts during cooperative experiments.
After active flight duty, Kubasov held technical and managerial positions interfacing with organizations like RKK Energia, the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, and ministries responsible for space hardware and policy. He worked on crewed program planning that connected to projects at NPO Lavochkin, TsAGI, and the Soviet Academy of Sciences research agendas, and contributed to international liaison efforts during initiatives such as the Interkosmos program and later collaboration frameworks with NASA, European Space Agency, and space agencies of Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and other Warsaw Pact states. Kubasov advised on flight safety, hardware integration, and cosmonaut training, coordinating with engineering directors including successors to Sergei Korolev like Vladimir Chelomey associates and later administrators at ROSCOSMOS-related institutions.
For his contributions Kubasov received multiple state decorations awarded by the Soviet Union and later Russian Federation. He was named a Hero of the Soviet Union and was decorated with orders such as the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Star, and awards from scientific bodies including medals from the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. International recognitions included distinctions presented during exchanges with delegations from United States, France, Germany, and partner countries in the Interkosmos framework, as well as honorary memberships and medals from aerospace organizations like International Academy of Astronautics and commemorative awards associated with the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.
Kubasov married and had a family while living in Moscow, maintaining professional ties to institutions such as the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center and the RKK Energia design bureau. In retirement he participated in veteran cosmonaut associations, public commemorations at sites like the Monument to the Conquerors of Space and the Cosmonautics Museum, and engaged in outreach with universities including the Moscow Aviation Institute and the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. He died in 2014 and was honored in state and industry memorials featuring representatives from ROSCOSMOS, NASA, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and international space organizations.
Category:Cosmonauts Category:Heroes of the Soviet Union Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin