- Vladimír Remek
Infobox Astronaut
name =Vladimír Remek
type =Intercosmos Cosmonaut
nationality =Czech
date_birth =September 26 ,1948
place_birth =České Budějovice
occupation =Pilot
rank =Colonel ,Czech Air Force
selection =Air Force Group 6
time =7d 22h 17m
mission =Soyuz 28
insignia =|Vladimír Remek (born
26 September 1948 ) is the first Czechoslovak in space (son of Czech mother and Slovak father), and the firstcosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States. As of 2004, with the entry of theCzech Republic into theEuropean Union Vladimír Remek is considered to be the first European Astronaut.cite web |url=http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=MSS_NEWS_CZ&ACTION=D&DOC=1&CAT=NEWS&QUERY=01199b688a34:2021:39059c8f&RCN=29313|title= Commemorating 30 years of European human space flight |accessdate=2008-05-15 |publisher= EU CORDIS ] He flew aboardSoyuz 28 fromMarch 2 nd toMarch 10 th1978 , for seven days, 22 hours, and 17 minutes. In later life he became a politician and now sits in theEuropean Parliament .Remek was born in
České Budějovice . He graduated from the Air Force Academy and worked as an Air Force pilot. He joined theIntercosmos program as an Army pilot in1976 .Vladimír Remek was awarded the title
Hero of the Soviet Union onMarch 16 1978 [ru icon [http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1555 Biography] at the website on Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia] Later, he became director of the Museum for Aviation and Astronautics inPrague , then representative for the companyČZ inMoscow . He later worked at the Czech embassy inRussia .He is now a
Member of the European Parliament for theCommunist Party of Bohemia and Moravia , which is part of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left party group in the European Parliament. He is married and has one child.The asteroid
2552 Remek is named after him.References
External links
* [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/searchForm/view.do?id=28330&language=en biography of Vladimír Remek at the European Parliament]
* [http://www.lib.cas.cz/www/space.40/ASTRON/CSR/REME-V.HTM Short biography] (in Czech)
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/international/english/remek_vladimir.htm Spacefacts biography of Vladimír Remek]
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