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Astronauts and Cosmonauts

Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez

International Partner and Guest Astronauts

Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez is a Cuban Air Force pilot who became the first person of African descent to fly in space and the first Cuban citizen to do so, launching aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in September 1980 as part of the Interkosmos program to the Salyut 6 space station. He spent about eight days in orbit conducting joint Soviet-Cuban scientific experiments, and his flight remains a significant point of national pride in Cuba.

Facts
Birth Year
1942 1
Nationality
Cuban 1
Classification
Astronaut Role
Research Cosmonaut 1
Dating
Selection Year
1978 1
Connections

Associated With

Source Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez

Operated By

Source Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez
In the Other Atlases

Nationality

Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.

Sources
1. Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez
  • Infobox, birth_date
    1942-01-29
  • Introduction
    is a Cuban military officer
  • Infobox, selection
  • Infobox, type
  • In Group: Guest Cosmonauts of Partner Nations, Lead sentence
    Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born 29 January 1942) is a Cuban military officer, legislator, and former cosmonaut.
  • Associated With: Soviet space program, Article text: associated organization
    Between April 1961 and May 1962, Tamayo completed a course in aerial combat with MiG-15s at the Yeysk Higher Air Force School in the Soviet Union, after which he was certified a combat pilot at the age of 19.
  • Operated By: Interkosmos, Cosmonaut career: selection
    In 1978 he was selected to join the Intercosmos program and moved to Star City, Russia for his training as a cosmonaut.
View the Source
Wikidata: Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez
Wikidata Q362902, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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