Vietnamese, Soviet cosmonauts reminisce about space flight

Friendship blossomed between the two cosmonauts aboard the spacecraft “Soiuz-37”, which left the earth’s orbit on July 23, 1980 and returned eight days later.

Pham Tuan expressed his honour at being the first Vietnamese to fly into outer space and remembered how warmly he was welcomed back by his fellow countrymen. Meanwhile, Gorbatko told the participants that he was the 21st Russian cosmonaut and 43 rd person across the world ever to visit outer space. His trip with Pham Tuan, under the Interkosmos space programme, was the third flight in his career as an astronaut, Gorbatko added.

On the occasion, the two astronauts expressed their wish that the younger generations develop the determination and confidence to make their dreams come true. Their meeting marked the 35th anniversary of the joint Vietnam-Soviet Union flight into space.