Pavel Popovich
| Pavel Romanovich Popovich | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Cosmonaut | |
| Nationality | Soviet |
| Born |
October 5, 1930 Uzyn, Kiev Oblast, Soviet Union (now Ukraine) |
| Died | September 29, 2009 (aged 78) Gurzuf, Crimea, Ukraine |
|
Other occupation
|
Pilot |
| 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 |
|
Mission insignia
|
 |
| Retirement | 26 January 1982 |
Pavel Romanovich Popovich (Russian: Па́вел Рома́нович Попо́вич, Ukrainian: Павло Романович Попович, Pavlo Romanovych Popovych) (October 5, 1930 – September 29, 2009) was a Soviet cosmonaut.
He was the 4th cosmonaut in space, the 6th person in orbit, and the 8th person in space.
He was born in Uzyn, Kiev Oblast of Soviet Union (now Ukraine) to Roman Porfirievich Popovich (a fireman in a sugar factory) and Theodosia Kasyanovna Semyonov. He had two sisters (one older, one younger) and two brothers (both younger).
During World War II, the Germans occupied Uzyn, and burned documents including Popovich's birth certificate. After the war, these were restored through witness testimony, and although his mother knew that he was born in 1929, two witnesses insisted that Popovich was born in 1930, and so this became his official year of birth.
In 1947, he left vocational school in Bila Tserkva with qualifications as a carpenter. In 1951, Popovich graduated as a construction engineer from a technical school in Magnitogorsk, as well as receiving a pilot's degree.
In 1954, he joined the Young Communist League.
He was married to Marina Popovich, a retired Soviet Air Force colonel, engineer, and legendary Soviet test pilot who has been outspoken about UFO reality. They had two daughters. They later divorced, and Popovich married Alevtina Oshegova.
Popovich was also a keen weight lifter:
He was also a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic 6th–11th convocations.
After his retirement in 1993, he lived in Moscow.
Popovich died in a hospital in Gurzuf where he had been taken following a stroke on 29 September 2009. Brain hemorrhage was cited as the cause of death. He is buried in Moscow.
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Wikipedia