Pavel Popovich

{{Infobox astronaut

| name = Pavel Popovich

| native_name = {{lang|ru|Павел Попович}}

| image = Pavel Popovich.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Popovich in 2008

| type = Cosmonaut

| nationality = Ukrainian

| birth_name = Pavel Romanovich Popovich

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|10|5|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Uzyn, Kyiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|9|29|1930|10|5|df=yes}}

| death_place = Gurzuf, Crimea, Ukraine

| occupation = Pilot

| Date of ret = 26 January 1982

| rank = Major General, Soviet Air Force

| selection = Air Force Group 1

| time = 2d 22h 57m (Vostok 4)
15d 17h 30m (Soyuz 14)

18d 16h 27m (total)

| mission = Vostok 4, Soyuz 14

| insignia =

| spouse = {{marriage|Marina Vasilyeva|end=div}}
Alevtina Oshegova

}}

Pavel Romanovich Popovich ({{langx|ru|Па́вел Рома́нович Попо́вич}}; {{langx|uk|Павло́ Рома́нович Попо́вич|Pavló Románovych Popóvych}}; 5 October 1930 – 29 September 2009) was a Soviet cosmonaut.

Popovich was the fourth cosmonaut in space, the sixth person in orbit, the eighth person and first Ukrainian in space.

Biography

Popovich was born in Uzyn, Kyiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR to Roman Porfirievich Popovich (a fireman in a sugar factory) and Theodosia Kasyanovna Semyonova. 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 said that Popovich was born in 1929, two witnesses insisted it was in 1930, which thus became the official year of his birth.

In 1947, Popovich 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, Popovich joined the Young Communist League.

He married Marina Popovich, a retired Soviet Air Force colonel and test pilot. They had two daughters but later divorced, and Popovich married Alevtina Oshegova.

Popovich was a keen weightlifter:

:"Service in the Air Force made us strong, both physically and morally. All of us cosmonauts took up sports and PT seriously when we served in the Air Force. I know that Yuri Gagarin was fond of ice hockey. He liked to play goal keeper. Gherman Titov was a gymnastics enthusiast, Andriyan Nikolayev liked skiing, Pavel Popovich went in for weight lifting. I don't think I am wrong when I say that sports became a fixture in the life of the cosmonauts."Bykovsky quoted in Gavrilin, p26-7

Following his military and space service (see below), he was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic 6th–11th convocations.

After his retirement in 1993, Popovich lived in Moscow. Popovich died in a hospital in Gurzuf where he was taken following a stroke on 29 September 2009, six days before his 79th birthday. Brain hemorrhage was cited as the cause of death. He was buried in Moscow.

Military

In 1952, Popovich graduated from a course at the Stalingrad Military Aviation School near Novosibirsk. He then went on to train at the Military Officers of the Air Force Aviation Training School in Grozny, until 1954, when he joined the Soviet Air Force.

= Service =

Details are from Space Encyclopedia ASTROnote, unless otherwise noted

class="wikitable"
Date !Role !Location
rowspan="2"\|25 Dec 1954 \| rowspan="2"\|Pilot \| 265 Fighter Regiment (IAP)
rowspan="2"\|336th Fighter Aviation Division (IAD) (later the IAD 64-Fighter Air Corps (IAC) 22nd Air Army)
19 Jun 1957 \| Senior Pilot/Squadron Adjutant
27 Feb 1958 \| rowspan="2"\|Senior Airman \| 772-IAP IAS 22nd 26th VA.
31 May 1958 \| rowspan="2"\|234-Guards Regiment Proskurov 9th IN IAD Moscow (Kubinka)
31 Jan 1959 \| Adjutant of the squadron
Jan 1982 \| Deputy Chief \|Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center
29 Dec 1989 \| Secondment \| State Committee of the USSR Agro
20 Aug 1993 \| colspan="2"\|Retired by order of the Defense Ministry

class="wikitable"

Date

!Role

!Location

rowspan="2"|25 Dec 1954

| rowspan="2"|Pilot

| 265 Fighter Regiment (IAP)

rowspan="2"|336th Fighter Aviation Division (IAD) (later the IAD 64-Fighter Air Corps (IAC) 22nd Air Army)

19 Jun 1957

| Senior Pilot/Squadron Adjutant

27 Feb 1958

| rowspan="2"|Senior Airman

| 772-IAP IAS 22nd 26th VA.

31 May 1958

| rowspan="2"|234-Guards Regiment Proskurov 9th IN IAD Moscow (Kubinka)

31 Jan 1959

| Adjutant of the squadron

Jan 1982

| Deputy Chief

|Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center

29 Dec 1989

| Secondment

| State Committee of the USSR Agro

20 Aug 1993

| colspan="2"|Retired by order of the Defense Ministry

Aircraft types flown:

= Training =

Details are from Space Encyclopedia ASTROnote, unless otherwise noted

class="wikitable"
Date !Cyrillic !English
12 May 1959 \| Военный летчик 3-го класса \| Military Pilot, 3rd class
15 Aug 1962 \| Военный летчик 1-го класса \| Military Pilot, 1st class
10 Nov 1960 \| Инструктор парашютно-десантной подготовки (ПДП) ВВС \| Parachute Instructor (PDP) Air Force
30 Nov 1962 \| Космонавт 3-го класса \| Astronaut 3rd class
24 Jul 1974 \| Космонавт 2-го класса \| Astronaut 2nd class

class="wikitable"

Date

!Cyrillic

!English

12 May 1959

| Военный летчик 3-го класса

| Military Pilot, 3rd class

15 Aug 1962

| Военный летчик 1-го класса

| Military Pilot, 1st class

10 Nov 1960

| Инструктор парашютно-десантной подготовки (ПДП) ВВС

| Parachute Instructor (PDP) Air Force

30 Nov 1962

| Космонавт 3-го класса

| Astronaut 3rd class

24 Jul 1974

| Космонавт 2-го класса

| Astronaut 2nd class

= Promotions =

Details are from Space Encyclopedia ASTROnote, unless otherwise noted

class="wikitable"
Date !Insignia !Cyrillic !English
30 Oct 1954 \| style="text-align:center;"\|20px \| Лейтенант \|Lieutenant
24 Apr 1957 \| style="text-align:center;"\|20px \| Старший лейтенант \| Senior Lieutenant
30 Mar 1959 \| style="text-align:center;"\|20px \| Капитан \|Captain
05 Nov 1961 \| style="text-align:center;"\|20px \| Майор \|Major
11 Aug 1962 \| style="text-align:center;"\|20px \| Подполковник (Podpolkovnik) \|Lieutenant Colonel
30 Apr 1965 \| style="text-align:center;"\|20px \| Полковник (Polkovnik) \|Colonel
5 May 1976 \| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"\|20px \| Генерал-майор авиации \|Major-General (Aviation)
20 Aug 1993 \| colspan="2"\|Retired from the Air Force

class="wikitable"

Date

!Insignia

!Cyrillic

!English

30 Oct 1954