Vladimír Remek

Vladimír Remek
Nationality	Czech
Occupation	Pilot
Space career
Intercosmos Cosmonaut
Rank	Colonel, Czech Air Force
Time in space	7d 22h 17m
Selection	Air Force Group 6
Missions	Soyuz 28
Mission insignia	File:Soyuz-28-patch.png

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. 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 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.

External links

• biography of Vladimír Remek at the European Parliament
• Short biography (in Czech)
• Spacefacts biography of Vladimír Remek