Aleksei Gubarev

Aleksei Aleksandrovich Gubarev (born March 29 1931 in Gvardeitsi) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on two space flights - Soyuz 17 and Soyuz 28.

Gubarev graduated from the Soviet Naval Aviation School in 1952 and went on to serve with the Soviet Air Force. He undertook further studies at the Gagarin Air Force Academy before acceptance into the space programme.

He was originally trained for the Soviet lunar programme and for military Soyuz flights before training for Salyut missions. His next assignment, in 1976 was to the Intercosmos programme. His flight on Soyuz 28 was the very first of these joint missions.

He resigned as a cosmonaut in 1981 and took up an administrative position at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre.

His awards include Hero of the Soviet Union (twice), Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, and the Gagarin Gold Medal. He is an honorary citizen of Kaluga, Arkalyk, Tselinograd, and Prague.

Gubarev published a book The Attraction of Weightlessness in 1982.