Image: Soviet Interkosmos programme, via Wikimedia Commons
Soyuz 38
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 1980-09-18 |
|---|---|
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1/5 |
| Launch vehicle | Soyuz-U |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz 7K-T (Soyuz 38) |
| Target | Low Earth Orbit |
| Type | Crewed |
| End date | 1980-09-26 |
| Duration | 7 days 20 hours 43 minutes |
| Partners | Cuba, Soviet Union (Interkosmos) |
Overview
Soyuz 38 carried Cuba's Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez to the Salyut 6 station, making him the first Latin American, the first Caribbean citizen, and the first person of African descent to fly in space. A former Revolutionary Air Force pilot who shined shoes as an orphaned child, Tamayo flew under the Soviet-led Interkosmos programme alongside veteran commander Yuri Romanenko. Launching on 18 September 1980, the pair docked the next evening in darkness with the resident crew of Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin already aboard. Over a week in orbit Tamayo ran nine experiments studying the cardiovascular system, brain electrical activity and the body's metabolic response to weightlessness, plus crystal-growth and sugar-dissolution studies. The crew returned in their own Soyuz 38 on 26 September, and Tamayo became a national hero across Cuba and the wider non-aligned world.
Crew
Yuri Romanenko
Commander
Second spaceflight; experienced Salyut 6 veteran
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez
Research Cosmonaut (Cuba, Interkosmos)
First Cuban, first Latin American and first person of African descent in space
Key Milestones
1980-09-18
Launch from Baikonur at 19:11 UTC; Tamayo becomes the first Cuban and first Black person in space
1980-09-19
Night-time docking with Salyut 6, joining resident crew Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin
1980-09-20
Nine-experiment Interkosmos research programme begins, including cardiovascular and brain-activity studies
1980-09-26
Undocking and landing 175 km SE of Dzhezkazgan after 7 days 20 hours in space
Key Achievements
First Cuban citizen in space
First Latin American and first Caribbean citizen in space
First person of African descent to fly in space
Conducted nine joint Soviet-Cuban Interkosmos experiments aboard Salyut 6
