Pavel Popovich Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Pavel Romanovich Popovich

Born	(1930-10-05)October 5, 1930 Uzyn, Kyiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	September 29, 2009(2009-09-29) (aged 78) Gurzuf, Crimea, Ukraine
Nationality	Ukrainian
Occupation	Pilot
Space career
Cosmonaut
Rank	Major General, Soviet Air Force
Time in space	2d 22h 57m (Vostok 4) 15d 17h 30m (Soyuz 14) 18d 16h 27m (total)
Selection	Air Force Group 1
Missions	Vostok 4, Soyuz 14
Retirement	26 January 1982

Pavel Romanovich Popovich (born October 5, 1930 – died September 29, 2009) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He was one of the very first people to travel into space!

He was the fourth cosmonaut from the Soviet Union to fly into space. He was also the sixth person to orbit Earth and the eighth person overall to go into space.

About Pavel Popovich
Military Career
Becoming a Cosmonaut
Other Activities
Awards and Honors
Interest in UFOs
Images for kids
See also

About Pavel Popovich

Pavel Popovich was born in a town called Uzyn in what was then the Ukrainian SSR. His father worked as a fireman in a sugar factory. Pavel had two sisters and two younger brothers.

During World War II, his hometown was taken over by German forces. Many important papers, including Pavel's birth certificate, were burned. After the war, people helped to restore these documents. Even though his mother remembered he was born in 1929, two witnesses said he was born in 1930. So, 1930 became his official birth year.

In 1947, Pavel finished a special school in Bila Tserkva. He learned how to be a carpenter. Later, in 1951, he graduated from a technical school in Magnitogorsk. There, he became a construction engineer and also earned his pilot's license.

Pavel married Marina Popovich, who was also a test pilot and a colonel in the Soviet Air Force. They had two daughters. Later, they divorced, and Pavel married Alevtina Oshegova.

Pavel was also very interested in weightlifting. Many cosmonauts enjoyed sports to stay strong and healthy. For example, Yuri Gagarin liked ice hockey, and Gherman Titov enjoyed gymnastics.

Pavel Popovich was also a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. This meant he was like an elected representative for his region.

After he retired in 1993, he lived in Moscow. Pavel Popovich passed away in 2009 at the age of 78. He is buried in Moscow.

Military Career

Pavel Popovich joined the Soviet Air Force in 1954. Before that, he studied at military aviation schools. He learned to fly different types of aircraft, including the Yakovlev Yak-11, Yakovlev Yak-18, Lavochkin La-9, and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15.

He quickly moved up in rank during his time in the Air Force:

In 1954, he became a Lieutenant.
By 1957, he was a Senior Lieutenant.
In 1959, he became a Captain.
He was promoted to Major in 1961.
In 1962, he became a Lieutenant Colonel.
By 1965, he was a Colonel.
Finally, in 1976, he reached the rank of Major-General (Aviation).

He retired from the Air Force in 1993.

Becoming a Cosmonaut

In 1960, Pavel Popovich was chosen to be part of the very first group of twenty air force pilots who would train to become cosmonauts for the Soviet space program. He trained hard from March 1960 to January 1961. He passed his final exams for basic cosmonaut training in January 1961.

Pavel was considered a strong choice for the first spaceflight. However, Yuri Gagarin was chosen for the historic Vostok 1 mission. Pavel still played an important role, serving as the person who talked to Gagarin from the ground (called a "capcom").

He continued his training for future Vostok missions.

Popovich in Vostok 4

Vostok 4 Mission

Pavel Popovich made his first space flight on Vostok 4 in 1962. This was a very special mission! It was the first time that more than one crewed spacecraft were in orbit at the same time. Pavel flew on Vostok 4, while Andriyan Nikolayev flew on Vostok 3. They flew close to each other in space! Pavel's special call sign for this flight was Golden eagle.

After his first flight, in 1964, he became an instructor for other cosmonauts. He helped train the next groups of space travelers.

Moon Landing Plans

Pavel Popovich was even chosen to command one of the Soviet Union's planned missions to the Moon. He trained for this between 1966 and 1968. However, the Soviet Union's plans for a Moon landing were eventually stopped.

Soyuz 14 Mission

In 1974, Pavel Popovich commanded his second and final space flight on Soyuz 14. His call sign was again Golden eagle. This mission was important because it was the first time a crew visited the Salyut 3 space station.

After his space flights, Pavel continued to work at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center. He was involved in research and testing work, helping to improve space travel for future missions.

Other Activities

Pavel Popovich was involved in many different organizations after his time as an active cosmonaut:

He was the Chairman of the Boxing Federation of Russia.
He became the President of the Yuri Gagarin Foundation, which honors the first man in space.
He was also the President of the Ukrainian Union of Cosmonauts.
He was a member of the Writers' Union of Russia.
He led the Association of Space Museums of Russia.

In 1991, he became the director of an institute that used images from space to study land and ecosystems in Russia.

Awards and Honors

Pavel Popovich received many awards and honors for his bravery and contributions to space exploration:

He was named a Hero of the Soviet Union twice! This is one of the highest honors in the Soviet Union.
He received the Order of Lenin twice.
He was given the title of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.
He also received awards from other countries, like the Gold Star Labor Hero of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Ukrainian Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise.
He was an Honored Master of Sports of the USSR for his achievements in space flight.

He was also given honorary citizenship in many cities in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Kazakhstan. A bronze sculpture of him was placed in his hometown of Uzyn.

Two places are named after him:

A mountain ridge in Antarctica.
The Mars-crossing asteroid 8444 Popovich.

He also received the Gold Tsiolkovsky Medal from the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

Interest in UFOs

Pavel Popovich was also interested in UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects). In 1984, he joined a special committee in the Russian Academy of Sciences to investigate strange aerial phenomena. He even became the head of the Academy's UFO Commission.

In a documentary, Popovich shared a story about seeing a UFO himself! He was on a plane flying back from Washington D.C. with other scientists. Everyone on the plane saw it. He described it as a perfect triangle shape that glowed with a bright white light. It was about 1.5 kilometers (about 1 mile) away and 1000 meters (about 3,300 feet) above their plane. The object moved very fast, about 1500 kilometers per hour (about 930 miles per hour), flying next to their plane and then quickly passing it.

Popovich was the president of the UFO association of Russia.