Vladimír Remek

Infobox Astronaut
name =Vladimír Remek

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type =Intercosmos Cosmonaut
nationality =Czech
date_birth =September 26, 1948
place_birth =České Budějovice
occupation =Pilot
rank =Colonel, Czech Air Force
selection =Air Force Group 6
time =7d 22h 17m
mission =Soyuz 28
insignia =|

Vladimír Remek (born 26 September 1948) is the first Czechoslovak in space (son of Czech mother and Slovak father), and the first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States. As of 2004, with the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union Vladimír Remek is considered to be the first European Astronaut.cite web |url=http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=MSS_NEWS_CZ&ACTION=D&DOC=1&CAT=NEWS&QUERY=01199b688a34:2021:39059c8f&RCN=29313|title= Commemorating 30 years of European human space flight |accessdate=2008-05-15 |publisher= EU CORDIS ] He flew aboard Soyuz 28 from March 2nd to March 10th 1978, for seven days, 22 hours, and 17 minutes. In later life he became a politician and now sits in the European Parliament.

Remek was born in České Budějovice. He graduated from the Air Force Academy and worked as an Air Force pilot. He joined the Intercosmos program as an Army pilot in 1976.

Vladimír Remek was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on March 16 1978 [ru icon [http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1555 Biography] at the website on Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia] Later, he became director of the Museum for Aviation and Astronautics in Prague, then representative for the company ČZ in Moscow. He later worked at the Czech embassy in Russia.

He is now a Member of the European Parliament for the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, which is part of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left party group in the European Parliament. He is married and has one child.

The asteroid 2552 Remek is named after him.

References

External links

* [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/searchForm/view.do?id=28330&language=en biography of Vladimír Remek at the European Parliament]
* [http://www.lib.cas.cz/www/space.40/ASTRON/CSR/REME-V.HTM Short biography] (in Czech)
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/international/english/remek_vladimir.htm Spacefacts biography of Vladimír Remek]