Nationality Polish Time in space 7d 22h 02m Mission insignia Role Cosmonaut Spouse Emilia Hermaszewska | Other occupation Pilot Selection 1976 Intercosmos Group Name Miroslaw Hermaszewski Space missions Soyuz 30 First space flight Soyuz 30 | |
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Born 15 September 1941 (age 82)
Lipniki in German-occupied Poland (then part of Reichskommissariat Ukraine), now Ukraine ( 1941-09-15 ) Children Emilia Hermaszeska, Miroslaw Hermaszewski Parents Roman Hermaszewski, Kamila Hermaszewska Rank Brigadier general, Polish Air Force | ||
Mirosław Hermaszewski (born September 15, 1941) is a retired Polish Air Force officer and cosmonaut. He became the first (and to this day remains the only) Polish national in space, when he flew aboard the Soviet Soyuz 30 spacecraft in 1978.
Contents
- Astronaut miroslaw hermaszewski
- Early life
- Intercosmos program
- Later life
- Personal life
- Honours and awards
- Wywiad z kosmonaut miros awem hermaszewskim
- References
Astronaut miroslaw hermaszewski
Early life
Mirosław Hermaszewski was born into a Polish family in Lipniki, formerly in the Wołyń Voivodeship of Poland, but at the time part of Reichskommissariat Ukraine, and since the end of the Second World War in Ukraine. He is a survivor of the Volhynian massacres during which Ukrainian nationalists murdered 19 members of his family, including his father. Hermaszewski narrowly escaped death himself when the Ukrainian Insurgent Army attacked Lipniki on the night of 26–27 March 1943. After the incorporation of former Polish territory into the Ukrainian SSR at the end of the war, what was left of Hermaszewski's family were deported to Wołów near Wrocław, where he completed elementary and high school.
Intercosmos program
In 1965, he graduated from the military pilot school in Dęblin. In 1978, he was chosen from almost 500 Polish pilots to take part in the Intercosmos space program. Together with Pyotr Klimuk, he spent almost eight days on board the Salyut 6 space station (from 17:27 on 27 June to 16:31 on 5 July 1978). During their time in orbit, they carried out various geoscience experiments and photographed the Earth.
They landed 300 km west of Tselinograd. Hermaszewski was awarded with the Hero of the Soviet Union title for his participation in the mission. He later became President of the Polish Astronautical Society (1983–89).
Later life
During the period of martial law in Poland, Hermaszewski was named as a member of the Military Council of National Salvation without his consent or knowledge. He was studying in Moscow at the time and although he was ordered to return to Warsaw when martial law was declared in December 1981, after two weeks he was released to continue his studies. He was subsequently appointed as commander of the Fighter Pilots School in Dęblin. In 1988, he was promoted to general.
Between 1991 and 1992, Hermaszewski served as second-in-command of the Polish Air Force and Air Defence. He is currently retired.
Personal life
He is married to Emilia Hermaszewska and has two children, Miroslaw (born 1966) and Emilia (born 1974).
Honours and awards
Wywiad z kosmonaut miros awem hermaszewskim
