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Mohmand
Credit - www.spacefacts.de
Abdul Ahad Mohmand Afghani Pilot Cosmonaut. Born 1959. First Afghani astronaut.

Personal: Male, Married, three children. Born in Sardah, Afghanistan. Afghan Air Force Graduated from Polytechnic Higher School in Kabul. Graduated from Air Force Academy. Afghan Air Force. Colonel, Afghan Air Force.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: International Group - 1988. Inactive Entered space service: 12 February 1988. Left space service: 7 September 1988. Number of Flights: 1.00. Total Time: 8.85 days. Originally backup. Replaced Masum when latter had appendicitis.

After the Soviet withdrawal he became a political refugee and lived in Stuttgart, Germany, finding work in a printing service. Later became a dual German / Afghan citizen.

Mohmand Spaceflight Log

  • 29 August 1988 Flight: Mir EP-3. Flight Up: Soyuz TM-6. Flight Back: Soyuz TM-5. Flight Time: 8.85 days.
Mohmand Chronology

12 February 1988 - International Cosmonaut Training Group selected.. Training group of Afghan 'guest cosmonauts' for a propaganda flight to the Mir space station.

29 August 1988 - Soyuz TM-6. Transported to the Mir orbital station a Soviet-Afghan crew comprising the cosmonauts V A Lyakhov, V V Polyakov and A A Momand (Afghanistan) to conduct joint research and experiments with the cosmonauts V G Titov and M K Manarov. Returned Manarov, Titov (Soyuz TM-4), Chretien (Soyuz TM-7) to Earth. Initial orbit 195 X 228 km at 51. 57 deg. Maneuvered to a 235 x 259 km orbit, then docked with Mir at 05:41 GMT on 31 August at its 339 x 366 km orbit. Moved from aft to forward port 8 Sept 88.
7 September 1988 - Landing of Soyuz TM-5. Undocked 22:55 GMT 5 September. Jettisoned Orbital Module 23:35 GMT 5 September. Planned landing 02:15 September 6 1988 failed due to confusion of infrared horizon sensors. Repeat retrofire attempt one orbit later resulted in a partial burn only. The crew had to spend a tense 24 hours in the cramped Descent Module (the Orbital Module having already been jettisoned before the retrofire burn) before making last chance deorbit. Finally Lyakhov and Afghani cosmonaut Mohmand (Soyuz TM-6) returned safely to Earth and landed September 7, 1988 00:50 GMT, 160 km SE Dzhezkazgan.
Bibliography:
Soyuz TM-6
Polyakov and Mohmand move equipment around Mir....
Credit- RKK Energia
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