Vladimír Remek (born 26 September 1948) is a Czech politician and diplomat as well as a former cosmonaut and military pilot. He flew aboard Soyuz 28 from 2 to 10 March 1978, becoming the first Czechoslovak in space and the only Czech in space. As the first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States, and with the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union, Remek is considered to be the first astronaut from the European Union.
Soyuz 28 was the third mission to visit the Salyut 6 space station. This mission, being the first of the Intercosmos program, had the first ever international crew. The mission began on March 2, 1978, 15:28 UTC, launching Commander Aleksei Gubarev and Research Cosmonaut VladimÃr Remek into orbit. They docked with the station the next day and greeted the crew of the long0duration EO-1 expedition. During their stay on the station, Soyuz 28 crew performed various scientific and technological experiments. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on March 10, 1978, 13:44 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitThe Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of the Russian Federation and general aerospace research. Soyuz has many launch locations the Russian sites are Baikonur, Plesetsk and Vostochny however Ariane also purchases the vehicle and launches it from French Guiana.