Vladimír Remek

Vladimír Remek flew on Soyuz 28 on 2 March 1978.  Forty years ago he became the 87th person to fly in space and the first person from outside the Soviet Union or USA to do it.  To date he is still the only Czech cosmonaut to have gone to space.

In 1970 he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Czechoslovak Air Force.  He was a fighter pilot in the 1st Fighter Air Regiment where he flew MiG-21s.

Interkosmos was the Soviet Union's space programme to help open up space to its allies.  Czechoslovakia was the first country to participate.

In 1988 Remek served as deputy of the 2nd Air Defence Division stationed in Moravia.  After the Velvet Revolution he was the Director of the Prague Museum for Aviation and Astronautics.  He retired from the Air Force in 1995.

From 2004 to 2013 he served as a member of the European Parliament.  Since January 2014 he has been the Czech ambassador to Moscow.

East Germany was the third country to participate in the programme.  Sigmund Jähn flew on Soyuz 31 which launched on 26 August 1978.

Here's a video from the European Space Agency that I found on YouTube.  Both Vladimír Remek and Sigmund Jähn are featured.

©European Space Agency