Introduction
Phạm Tuân is a Vietnamese pilot and cosmonaut, known as the first Vietnamese and the first Asian to fly into space. He was born and grew up in Thái Bình province, in a purely agricultural rice-growing area. He once held the position of Chairman of the General Department of Defence Industry (Ministry of Defence) and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.
Career
He enlisted in 1965, went to the Soviet Union to study flying and graduated in 1967, then returned home to take part in combat. According to his account, he initially sat a military entrance exam but was not selected for the pilot branch, so he turned to studying as a mechanic, repairing aircraft. During that time, because of a shortage of combat pilots, the mechanics were recruited again to go flying, and he was one of 10 people who became pilots.
In the 1972 Điện Biên Phủ trên không campaign, he was one of 10 pilots who took part in combat and shot down American B-52 aircraft, and was honoured as Hero of the People's Armed Forces for the first time.
The spaceflight
In 1980, he was selected to take part in the spaceflight programme. According to his account, when they went back through the selection records, they found he had a heart rhythm disorder so he could not be selected; however, because the requirement was to select 4 Vietnamese pilots to go to the Soviet Union but only 3 had been chosen, he was included to make up the number and afterwards passed the selection. After many rounds of selection, 4 people went to the Soviet Union, including him, and they trained at the space centre for about 16 months. He only knew he was the main pilot 3 days before the flight.
At exactly 1:33 am on 23 July 1980 (Hanoi time), at the Baikonur cosmodrome, the Soyuz 37 spacecraft, controlled by Viktor Gorbatko and Phạm Tuân, launched into space. The flight made Phạm Tuân the first Vietnamese and the first Asian to fly into space. The spacecraft made 142 orbits of the Earth, carried out more than 30 remote-sensing experiments, dissolved mineral samples and conducted plant experiments on azolla. The reason azolla was chosen to be taken along was that it is a plant that multiplies easily, absorbs carbon dioxide, produces oxygen, and the research aimed to understand the effect of radiation in space on living things.
He shared that during the flight, he tried to find the beloved S-shaped strip of land to look at, and felt deeply moved and proud. Regarding living on the spacecraft, he described that food portions were contained in tubes with fixed quantities, and sleeping was done by getting into a sleeping bag, hanging oneself fixed to the wall of the spacecraft so as not to float freely. The most special moment for him was when he completed the mission and returned to Earth.
In 1980, when he successfully flew into space, he was honoured with the title Hero of the People's Armed Forces for the second time, and was also awarded the Hero's Medal by the Soviet state. He was also awarded the title Hero of Labour.
After retiring, he still takes part in gatherings and shares with younger generations about his journey and experience.