Soviet Afghan space flight. The first and only Afghan astronaut

Abdul Ahad Momand (January 1, 1959, Ghazni province) - cosmonaut-researcher of the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft (Soyuz TM-5) and the Mir orbital research complex; the first and only cosmonaut of the Republic of Afghanistan, the captain of the Afghan Air Force.
He flew from August 29, 1988 to September 7, 1988 under the Shamshad program on the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft and the Mir station (landing on the Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft) as a research cosmonaut.

"... After the flight, Abdul Ahad Momand received the highest Soviet and Afghan awards: the title of Hero Soviet Union, Hero of Afghanistan, medal " Golden Star"and the Afghan order" The Sun of Freedom ". He graduated from the Academy in Moscow General Staff, worked at the Afghan Space Research Institute, served as Deputy Minister for about six months civil aviation RA.
But historical process relentless: Soviet troops left Afghanistan, and after that the regime of President Najibullah lasted a little over three years.
The Mujahideen came to power while Mohmand was on a business trip to India to deal with complaints about corruption among the staff of the Afghan airline Ariana. Mohmand did not dare to return to Afghanistan: he could not be forgiven for such close cooperation with the USSR. In addition, in the liberated country immediately broke out Civil War. “I myself am from the Pashtuns,” Momand explained his unenviable position, “who are now fighting against the Mujahideen, who have formed an alliance with the Tajiks. Not being a Tajik, I chose to leave.”
Having managed to take with him only a small suitcase with things, Mohmand and his family were forced to urgently flee to another country. He settled in Germany, in Stuttgart, becoming a political refugee. Without any malicious intent, the German authorities distorted the spelling of his surname in the identity document - instead of "Mohmand" they wrote "Momand", and he did not seek to correct this mistake. The Afghan cosmonaut could not go home even during the reign of the gloomy Taliban regime - his wife would have to give up her beloved profession of a journalist, and his two daughters would not be allowed to attend school.
The understudy of the Afghan cosmonaut Mohammed Dauran - a Tajik by origin - received the rank of general and the post of commander of the Air Force in armed forces Mujahideen. Recently, he could be seen in TV reports from Afghanistan, where there was a war with the Taliban - General Dauran commanded Air force Northern Alliance.
In Mohmand's small Stuttgart apartment, only one small photograph on the wall recalls his space feat. The suit, awards and souvenirs related to space remained in Kabul. The cosmonaut's brother, who remained in Afghanistan, told him by phone that the things were well hidden. Perhaps now, after the overthrow of the Taliban regime, the first Afghan cosmonaut will decide to return to his tormented homeland.

Often, at the sharp turns of history, in the whirlpool of political storms and battles, becoming a victim of the adventures of unprincipled state regimes, the fate of entire peoples collapses, the best representatives of society suffer tragedies. An example of this is the difficult fate of the first and only Afghan cosmonaut Abdul Ahad Momand, who made a nine-day flight in August-September 1988 as part of the crew of the Soviet Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft.

Abdul Ahad Mohmand, in a sense, became a victim of the political conjuncture that dominated the world astronautics during the period cold war. The Soviet leadership, which sent a “limited military contingent” to Afghanistan, and the top of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which maintained its power in the country on the bayonets of the Soviet troops, chose space as the arena for demonstrating “indestructible Soviet-Afghan friendship.”

In September 1987, the government of the RA (Republic of Afghanistan) and the Glavkosmos of the USSR signed an agreement on the flight of an Afghan cosmonaut to the Mir orbital station, scheduled for early 1989. Captain Mohmand was among the 457 applicants who began the selection process in November. At the first stage medical board selected about 40 pilots and engineers who agreed to master the profession of an astronaut and who met the primary physical and psychological requirements for astronaut candidates.
After the third stage of selection, 8 finalists remained, sent to Moscow for an in-depth examination in January 1988. They were Captain Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Colonel Mohammed Dauran, Colonel Akar Khan, Major Shere Zamin, civilian pilot Mohammed Jahid and three civilian specialists: Amer Khan, Kyal Mohammed and Sira-Juden.

The commission was forced to hurry with the final choice. Then it was already clear that the Soviet troops would soon leave Afghanistan, and therefore it was necessary to carry out the flight of an Afghan cosmonaut before this cardinal event. It was immediately clear to the members of the commission that Abdul Ahad Mohmand and Mohammed Dauran had clear advantages. Both were military pilots, studied in the Soviet Union, had higher military education, spoke Russian fluently and were well acquainted with aviation technical terminology.

But it was not so easy for two future astronauts to realize such obvious advantages. Among other candidates who were also members of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (others were not allowed to be selected), there were close and distant relatives of members of the party and state elite of that time - members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the PDPA and ministers.

Among the cosmonaut candidates who went to Moscow in January 1988 was the nephew of a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the PDPA and the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, Muhammad Jahid. But kinship with a great dignitary did not help: as a child, Jahid swallowed the key, and he underwent an operation. The consequences of this operation, according to Soviet doctors, did not allow him to be admitted to the final round of selection of candidates for astronauts. As compensation from a high-ranking uncle, the failed astronaut received a prestigious and well-paid position as a civil airline pilot.

The final Soviet-Afghan agreement was signed on February 11, 1988. The next day, the press announced that 34-year-old Mohammed Dauran and 29-year-old Abdul Ahad Momand would be preparing for the flight to the Mir station.

Astronauts from the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
M.G. Dauran (left) and A.A. Mohmand. Star City, August 1988.

Momand was born in 1959 in the province of Ghazni, at the age of 17 he entered the Kabul Polytechnic University. The next year he was sent to the USSR to study as a military pilot. He studied at the Krasnodar and Kiev military aviation schools. In 1981 he returned to his homeland, served in military aviation, then was again sent to the USSR to study at the Air Force Academy. Yu.A. Gagarin and graduated from it in 1987.

On February 25, 1988, Afghan pilots arrived in star city and the very next day they began intensive training.
As is usually the case, political initiatives ran counter to work plans. Therefore, it was necessary to form crews (primary and backup) without flight engineers. The crew commanders were experienced cosmonauts who had been trained as rescue cosmonauts and were able to fly spaceship without a flight engineer.

For the Soviet-Afghan program, two crews were formed: the main one, consisting of commander Vladimir Lyakhov, doctor Valery Polyakov and Mohammed Dauran, and a backup crew consisting of Anatoly Berezovy, doctor German Arzamazov and Abdul Ahad Momand. However, Dauran soon underwent surgery due to appendicitis and moved into the category of doubles. Mohmand became a member of the main crew.
(However, in an interview given a few years later, Mohmand claimed that from the very beginning he was chosen as the first Afghan cosmonaut, which is not very consistent with the facts).

Since political circumstances required the speedy passage of pre-flight training, her program was significantly reduced. So, for example, since the flight was supposed to take place in August, the Afghan cosmonauts did not work out how to survive in winter conditions. Was not in their program and training for action in desert areas. At the same time, together with the Soviet crew members, the Afghan cosmonauts had to undergo specialized training to develop water landing skills. M.Dauran, however, did not go through these trainings either.
On August 29, 1988, the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. The Afghan cosmonaut took with him two copies of the Koran, the national flag and a set of envelopes for special cancellation on board the Mir. Two days later, the ship docked with the Mir station.
Over the next six days, Vladimir Lyakhov, Valery Polyakov and Abdul Ahad Momand worked at the station together with the main crew: Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov. Acting as a research cosmonaut, Mohmand participated in many experiments. One of them, which was of great importance for his homeland, was photographing from space the territory of his country, on the basis of which the first ever complete cartographic atlas of Afghanistan was compiled.
The return to Earth turned out to be quite dramatic for the international crew. Valery Polyakov stayed on at Mir, while Vladimir Lyakhov and Abdul Ahad Mohmand undocked from the ship Soyuz TM-5 on September 6, 1988. orbital station and began operations to return.
Immediately after undocking, the most experienced cosmonaut Lyakhov made two serious mistakes (one of which, however, he immediately corrected). Probably, in addition to everything, the lack of a flight engineer had an effect. Ground Mission Control Center (MCC) also did not correct the commander. As a result, instead of diverging from the station, the ship began to rotate near it, which threatened with a collision. After discussing the situation with the MCC, Vladimir Lyakhov turned on the necessary sensors, and the rotation stopped.

As was envisaged by the program, 40 minutes after undocking, Vladimir Lyakhov fired off the utility compartment of the Soyuz TM-5. This was done to save fuel, which was "taken away" by a massive compartment during braking. As is known, the Soyuz spacecraft consists of three compartments: the utility compartment, the descent module (the cosmonauts' cabin), and the instrument-assembly compartment (the brake engine is placed in it). In the household compartment, among other things, there are supplies of water, food and ACS (sewage installation, in other words, a toilet).
But the trouble started again. 30 seconds before the engine was switched on for braking, the orientation system failed, so the engine did not start. This rejection was spurred on by others. In this situation, Lyakhov acted exemplarily, turning off the engine when he suddenly started working abnormally, which could lead to a landing somewhere in China, or even in the ocean.

Another descent attempt was made on the next orbit. But this time, the MCC erroneously entered incorrect data into the on-board computer, as a result of which the brake engine worked for only a few seconds (instead of 213). The ship's commander twice tried to manually "keep" the running engine, but it turned off again and again, and the ship remained in orbit.
Despite the fact that the Soyuz TM-5 did not descend, the automation switched on the compartment separation program. According to this program, after 21 minutes, the descent vehicle was to separate from the instrument-aggregate compartment. Usually this happens after the ship rushes to the Earth, and in the propulsion compartment with the exhausted engine is no longer needed. But now Lyakhov and Mohmand were still in orbit!

Automation, as if not realizing the disastrous situation, counted the minutes until the separation of the compartments ... It was truly a metronome of death: if the separation of the compartments occurred in orbit, the ship would literally fall apart into two parts and then the crew would have no chance to return to Earth.

At that moment, Vladimir Lyakhov did not have the opportunity to consult with the Earth - the ship was flying outside the communication zone with the Control Center. He had a little over 20 minutes to make the saving right decision.

After some time, when the ship entered the communication zone, and Lyakhov began a report to the flight director, a siren howled, signaling the beginning of the separation of the compartments: a little more than two minutes remained before him. Lyakhov urgently requested permission to turn off the separation program, but the Earth was slow to respond. At that moment, on the border between life and death, Lyakhov himself turned off the separation program. Had he hesitated for a minute, both cosmonauts would have become prisoners and victims of the orbit.

Only after 5 minutes did the MCC understand what had happened, and they experienced a real shock, realizing that the life of the crew hung in the balance. There was an operator error and everything else ...
"You will descend on the next turn,- said the flight director Valery Ryumin to the cosmonauts. - We have already set the "setpoint" for the descent of 102 meters. "No way, - an angry Lyakhov answered him, - give me... You have already pawned once". There was an unpleasant pause, after which Ryumin got in touch and reported decision: Postpone landing for a day in order to be guaranteed to get to the regular landing area in Kazakhstan.

"Please note - there is no water, there is nothing to eat, there is no ACS", Lyakhov warned the flight leader. To this, Ryumin joked rudely: “You are fat and can do without food”. In general, there was a supply of water and food in the cabin in case of an emergency landing, but the astronauts decided not to touch the NS for this very reason - no one yet knew where they would “fall” to Earth.
The astronauts found themselves in a difficult situation: without water, without food, and most importantly, without a toilet ... And there was not much oxygen left. Days passed in an agonizing wait, aggravated by thirst and understandable discomfort. The astronauts figured out to use the plastic bags left over from Mohmand's sleeping bag. However, the Afghan decided to wait until landing.

The Afghan cosmonaut, although he had little influence on what was happening, behaved with dignity and courage. The Soviet commander had nothing to reproach him for.
The next day, September 7, the third attempt to descend to Earth was finally successful. Before that, Lyakhov himself checked the descent data stored in the onboard computer, bluntly telling the MCC: "I don't believe you anymore!".
The descent went well. Even Ahad Mohmand endured it well, remarking: "Is it an overload?". Soft landing engines fired near the Earth's surface. Rescuers from the search service hurried to the landed descent vehicle and helped the astronauts to get out. Thus ended this almost tragic space flight.
After the flight, Abdul Ahad Momand received the highest Soviet and Afghan awards: the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Afghanistan, the Gold Star medal and the Afghan Order of the Sun of Freedom. He graduated from the Academy of the General Staff in Moscow, worked at the Afghan Space Research Institute, and for about six months served as Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Armenia.
But the historical process is inexorable: the Soviet troops left Afghanistan, and after that the regime of President Najibullah did not last long.
The Mujahideen came to power while Mohmand was on a business trip to India to deal with complaints about corruption among the staff of the Afghan airline Ariana. Mohmand did not dare to return to Afghanistan: he could not be forgiven for such close cooperation with the "Soviet occupiers". In addition, a civil war immediately broke out in the liberated country. “I myself am from the Pashtuns, - Mohmand explained his unenviable position, - who are now fighting against the Mujahideen, who have formed an alliance with the Tajiks. Not being a Tajik, I chose to leave.”
Having managed to take with him only a small suitcase with things, Mohmand and his family were forced to urgently flee to another country. He settled in Germany, in Stuttgart, becoming a political refugee. Without any malicious intent, the German authorities distorted the spelling of his surname in the identity document - instead of "Mohmand" they wrote "Momand", and he did not seek to correct this mistake. The Afghan cosmonaut could not go home even during the reign of the gloomy Taliban regime - his wife would have to give up her beloved profession of a journalist, and his two daughters would not be allowed to attend school.

Double Afghan cosmonaut Mohammed Dauran - Tajik by origin - received the rank of general and the post of commander of the Air Force in the armed forces of the Mujahideen. Recently, he could be seen in TV reports from Afghanistan, where there was a war with the Taliban - General Dauran commanded the Air Force of the Northern Alliance.
In Mohmand's small Stuttgart apartment, only one small photograph on the wall recalls his cosmic feat. The suit, awards and souvenirs related to space remained in Kabul. The cosmonaut's brother, who remained in Afghanistan, told him by phone that all things were well hidden. Perhaps now, after the overthrow of the Taliban regime, the first Afghan cosmonaut will decide to return to his tormented homeland.

Image copyright ROSKOSMOS Image caption Abdul Ahad Mohmand and engineer Valery Polyakov on the Soyuz spacecraft

In 1988 when Soviet army was about to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft, on board of which was the first and only Afghan cosmonaut Abdul Ahad Momand, went to the Mir orbital station. He returned to Earth as a hero, but after only three years he was forced to flee his country to Germany.

“When I was little, I often looked at the sky. Sometimes planes flew overhead, and I thought about how wonderful it would be to be able to fly,” Mohmand recalls his childhood in Afghanistan half a century ago.

In the 1980s he became a captain in the Afghan Air Force. This allowed him to realize what he could not even dream of - to go into space. Ahad was selected from 400 candidates and became the first Afghan to take part in the Soviet space program. At the age of 29, he moved to the cosmonaut training complex in Star City near Moscow.

Veteran cosmonaut Vladimir Lyakhov became the commander of the spacecraft. He liked the young Afghan from the very beginning. They enjoyed spending time together - both on Earth before the flight, and in space. Lyakhov still recalls how, at the request of the Afghan government, he helped make a video in which Ahad read the Koran in space.

"The video was filmed from below. I was out of the frame because I was holding Ahad's legs to stop him moving in weightlessness," recalls 70-year-old Lyakhov. Another memory is connected with how they measured out 90-minute intervals of time together on a stationary bike, looking out of the window.

Image copyright ROSKOSMOS Image caption The main crew and backups of the Soyuz spacecraft

“Someone then said: “Look, we are flying over Canada. So if you keep pedaling until we are over Canada again, then you will go full circle around the Earth," recalls Lyakhov.

A sense of humor was simply necessary for the astronauts, especially during the return to Earth, when computer systems Soyuz spacecraft suddenly went out of order. Moments separated them from the complete loss of engines - if this happened sooner, they would be stuck in space forever.

While the mission leaders on Earth frantically tried to reprogram the spacecraft's systems in order to prepare the Soyuz for a second landing attempt, Ahad and Lyakhov circled the Earth for 24 hours in a tiny capsule. The whole world was watching this situation - they were in a capsule without food, water, a toilet, and with only a two-day supply of oxygen. But what have they been doing all this time?

"To be honest, we told each other jokes," says Ahad.

Image copyright ROSKOSMOS Image caption Members of the main crew of the Soyuz spacecraft

When the cosmonauts finally landed in Kazakhstan, Soviet television cameras captured wide smiles on their faces, although the crew members themselves understood that a miracle had helped them survive.

"When we landed, Ahad said to me, 'Commander, don't fly a fourth time. Allah will not forgive you for this, - recalls Lyakhov. - I told everyone that the days of flights of the old cosmonaut Vladimir Lyakhov are over. So Ahad was right - I never flew again."

In 1988 Ahad returned to Kabul together with Lyakhov. There he was greeted national hero: along the road along which the astronauts were traveling, there were crowds of people. At this very time, the Mujahideen were shelling the city with rockets, protesting against the Soviet occupation.

This meeting made me happy. She gave me hope for a better future Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghanistan's first astronaut

A year after Ahad's triumphant return from space, the Soviet army withdrew troops from Afghanistan. Ahad was appointed Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation while the Mujahideen were besieging Kabul.

Ahad managed to leave on a business trip just a few days before the Soviet-backed Afghan government collapsed and the Mujahideen seized power in the country.

The country was swept by a wave of violence. If Ahad had remained in Afghanistan, he would most likely have become one of the main targets of the Mujahideen, since he was one of the most famous figures of the communist era.

Image caption Fighter L-39 at a military base in Kabul - in the 1980s, Ahad trained on the same fighter

Ahad returned to Afghanistan this year with the BBC team for the first time in 25 years. He did not know how he would be received. But no sooner had he arrived in Kabul than he received a phone call from the office of President Hamid Karzai and was invited to lunch with the President.

"He was very kind to me. He immediately told me that, despite the fact that he himself fought against the Soviet troops, while I was flying into space, he was very proud and happy," notes Ahad.

On another evening he was invited to look at the stars by young astronomers. They were so glad to see him that they decided to set up a telescope despite the cloudiness. "I told the children that in any case we will see a star," said the director of the astronomical center, "but not a star in the sky, but here on Earth."

Being on the dark hill of Kabul at night, Ahad was clearly nervous. But the enthusiasm of young astronomers was infectious. By the end of the evening, Ahad forgot about the danger, began signing autographs and answering questions from a new generation of future astronauts. The young Afghans clearly inspired Ahad.

"This meeting made me happy. It gave me hope for a better future," Ahad admitted.

As they were getting ready to leave, one of the teachers told of watching Ahad's conversation with Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah from space on TV.

"You told him that Afghanistan from space was very beautiful. And it looked so peaceful," the teacher said. Ahad also remembered this conversation.

"My message to the people of Afghanistan is the same as then - the Afghans do not need a war. Please stop fighting and unite," he said.

Image caption Ahad has been living in Germany with his family since 1992.

His life now is not at all the same as before - he is no longer a test pilot, not an astronaut and not a minister, but just an accountant in a small firm in Stuttgart.

He lives on the outskirts of the city with his wife and three children. His life is not so exciting, but it is a good example of a peaceful existence, which Ahad, the first and last cosmonaut of Afghanistan, would like for his country too.

50th anniversary of the flight
Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin
Into the space
DEDICATED

Space exploration continues. At the end of August 1988, a manned spacecraft with a Soviet-Afghan crew was launched from Baikonur. It was the fourteenth international expedition to the Soviet orbital stations...

How was this flight and what further fate Afghan astronaut. The author mentions this in his article.

Often, at the sharp turns of history, in the whirlpool of political storms and battles, the destinies of entire peoples collapse, the best representatives of society suffer tragedies. An example of this is the difficult fate of the first and only Afghan cosmonaut Abdul Ahad Momand, who made a nine-day flight in August-September 1988 as part of the crew of the Soviet Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft.

In September 1987, the government of the Republic of Afghanistan and the Glavkosmos of the USSR signed an agreement on the flight of an Afghan cosmonaut to the Mir orbital station. Captain Mohmand was among the 457 applicants who began the selection process in November. The final Soviet-Afghan agreement was signed on February 11, 1988. The next day, the press announced that 34-year-old Mohammed Dauran and 29-year-old Abdul Ahad Mohmand would be preparing for the flight to the Mir station.

Mohmand was born on January 1, 1959 in the village of Banda-Sard, Shingar district, Ghazni province. Pashtun by nationality. At the age of 17 he entered the Kabul Polytechnic University. In 1978 he was drafted into the army and sent to the Soviet Union to receive a military education. He studied at the Krasnodar and Kiev military aviation schools. In 1981, Mohmand returned to his homeland, served in military aviation, then was again sent to the USSR to study at the Air Force Academy. Yu.A. Gagarin and graduated from it in 1987. Even after graduating from the academy, Abdul Ahad did not dare to dream of flying into space, as the first did soviet man, who visited there and whose name this educational institution bore.

On February 25, 1988, Afghan pilots arrived in Star City and the next day began intensive training.

From official TASS reports:

“On August 29, 1988, at 8:23 am Moscow time, the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft was launched in the Soviet Union.
The ship is piloted by an international crew: commander twice Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR Vladimir Lyakhov, doctor-researcher Valery Polyakov and cosmonaut-researcher citizen of the Republic of Afghanistan Abdul Ahad Momand.
The flight program provides for the docking of the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft with the Mir manned complex ... "

In his prelaunch statement, Abdul Ahad specifically said:

“... In a few minutes, the long-awaited “Start” command will sound, and the spacecraft will enter low-Earth orbit.

I am happy that the leadership of the Republic of Afghanistan entrusted me with the high honor of participating together with the Soviet brothers in this space flight. As the son of my proud people, together with joy, I will take into space the pain for my homeland, where the fire of fratricidal war continues to blaze.

To you, beloved compatriots, my innermost words are addressed. Brothers! Stop the war and direct your forces to building a lasting national peace. Let's make an independent, neutral, non-aligned Afghanistan peaceful and united, and our people happy! To see the onset of peace in my homeland is my most ardent dream ... "

So, on August 29, 1988. The Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Afghan cosmonaut took with him two copies of the Koran, the national flag and a set of envelopes for special cancellation on board the Mir.

“This morning, many Afghans spent watching TV: there was a live broadcast from the Soviet cosmodrome. Televisions were turned on in the institutions of Kabul and at the enterprises of the city, in lyceums, universities.

I have never seen anything like this before,” said the driver Khabibulla after the broadcast. – What do I feel? Joy and pride. What powerful equipment the Soviet Union has! How high has the authority of Afghanistan risen! With the help of Soviet friends, we are almost the first among Muslim countries ascended into space.

President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic Goldad commented on this event in the following way:

We feel happy: with the help of the Soviet Union, we have entered the family of states participating in research under the Intercosmos program. We are proud that our young pilot became an astronaut. Our sense of joy is one side of the event. The other is its great political and scientific significance and the consequences it will have for the development of the economy and science of Afghanistan. A look from space, research that will become possible on the basis of space photography will help, much more economically than can be achieved by other means, to study the resources of our country - groundwater, gas, oil, forests ... "

Over the next six days, Vladimir Lyakhov, Valery Polyakov and Abdul Ahad Momand worked at the station along with the main crew. Acting as a research cosmonaut, Mohmand participated in many experiments. One of them, which was of great importance for his homeland, was photographing from space the territory of his country, on the basis of which the first ever complete cartographic atlas of Afghanistan was compiled.

The return to Earth turned out to be quite dramatic for the international crew. Valery Polyakov remained to work on the Mir, and Vladimir Lyakhov and Abdul Ahad Momand undocked from the orbital station on September 6, 1988 on the Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft and began operations to return.

Immediately after undocking, the most experienced cosmonaut Lyakhov made two serious mistakes (one of which, however, he immediately corrected). As a result, instead of diverging from the station, the ship began to rotate near it, which threatened with a collision. After discussing the situation with the MCC, Vladimir Lyakhov turned on the necessary sensors, and the rotation stopped.

But the trouble started again. 30 seconds before the engine was switched on for braking, the orientation system failed, so the engine did not start. This rejection was spurred on by others. In this situation, Lyakhov acted exemplarily, turning off the engine when he suddenly started working abnormally, which could lead to a landing somewhere in China, or even in the ocean.

Another descent attempt was made on the next orbit. But this time, the MCC erroneously entered incorrect data into the onboard computer, as a result of which the brake engine worked for only a few seconds (instead of 213). The ship's commander twice tried to manually "keep" the running engine, but it turned off again and again, and the ship remained in orbit.

Despite the fact that the Soyuz TM-5 did not descend, the automation switched on the compartment separation program. According to this program, after 21 minutes, the descent vehicle was to separate from the instrument-aggregate compartment. Usually this happens after the ship rushes to the Earth, and there is no longer a need for the propulsion compartment with its exhausted engine. But now Lyakhov and Mohmand were still in orbit!

Vladimir Lyakhov did not have the opportunity to consult with the Earth at that moment - the ship was flying outside the communication zone with the Control Center. He had a little over 20 minutes to make the saving right decision.

Only after 5 minutes did the MCC understand what had happened, and they experienced a real shock, realizing that the life of the crew hung in the balance. An operator error was found and everything else.

Flight Director Valery Ryumin got in touch and informed about the decision made: to postpone the landing for a day in order to be guaranteed to get to the regular landing area in Kazakhstan.

“Please note that there is no water, there is nothing to eat, there is no automated control system,” Lyakhov warned the flight leader. In general, there was a supply of water and food in the cabin in case of an emergency landing, but the astronauts decided not to touch the NS for this very reason - no one yet knew where they would “fall” to Earth.

The astronauts found themselves in a difficult situation: without water, without food, and most importantly, without a toilet ... And there was not much oxygen left. Days passed in an agonizing wait, aggravated by thirst and understandable discomfort. The astronauts figured out to use the plastic bags left over from Mohmand's sleeping bag. However, the Afghan cosmonaut decided to wait until landing.

The Afghan, although he had little influence on what was happening, behaved with dignity and courage. The Soviet commander had nothing to reproach him for.

What helped Abdul Ahad survive? Memories of my small homeland. Pictures of his childhood flashed before his eyes. Native place, which is a cluster of several adobe buildings on the banks of a small river Dzhilga. In the south, right across the river, the hills, running up against each other like waves, rose close, beyond which the neighboring village of Sarde could be seen. To the north, all the way to Ghazni, stretched an even boundless steppe with sparse vegetation. To the right, at the foot of the mountains that seemed to be painted on the horizon, there was a path to the city of Gardez. On the other side, at a distance of two or three kilometers from his native village, a lonely rocky Mursel hill towered among the vast plain, on top of which the ruins of stone fortifications could be seen - witnesses of the past battles of the Afghans with the conquerors.

I also remembered how once they were returning with their father from the fair in Ghazni, walking, very tired. On their way was the village of Kala-Niyaz. But what is it? On a flat area near the road, near the spreading gyazes, people are crowding, among them there are many children, the same age as Abdul Ahad. Several men formed a circle. Two drummers came out in the middle, the Afghan national dance Atan began, surprisingly rhythmic and lively. The dancers moved in a circle slowly at first, then faster and faster, turning sharply, shaking their heads and clapping their hands. Women appeared on the roofs of several houses, surrounded by a high duval, talking animatedly about something. It turned out that a wedding was taking place in the village, and celebrations were organized on this occasion ...

Abdul Ahad played this dance again and again in his head, which gave him strength and helped him to endure in a difficult situation in space...

The next day, September 7, the third attempt to descend to Earth was finally successful. The descent went well. Even Ahad Mohmand bore it well, remarking, "Is this an overload?" Soft landing engines fired near the Earth's surface. Rescuers from the search service hurried to the landed descent vehicle and helped the astronauts to get out. Thus ended this almost tragic space flight.

From official TASS reports:

“September 7, 1988 at 04:50 Moscow time, the international crew consisting of Vladimir Lyakhov and Abdul Ahad Mohmand, a citizen of the Republic of Afghanistan, returned to Earth. Both cosmonauts are in good health.
At 4 hours 01 minutes Moscow time on September 7, the ship's propulsion system was switched on for braking by the commands of the onboard automation. At the end of the engine operation, the descent vehicle of the Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft separated from the instrument and assembly compartment, made a controlled descent in the atmosphere and landed 160 km southeast of the city of Dzhezkazgan.
The flight program of the international Soviet-Afghan crew has been completed. Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov and Valery Polyakov continue their work in orbit.”

A few days later, the newspapers reported: “Zvezdny meets Protons:

“The airfield near Moscow traditionally sees off and welcomes space crews. It seems that quite recently everyone here witnessed the return of the Soviet-Bulgarian expedition to visit the Mir orbital complex, but now the flags of the Soviet Union and the Republic of Afghanistan are flying on flagpoles on the platform of the airfield. Today cosmonauts Vladimir Lyakhov and Abdul Ahad Mohmand are welcomed here.

The clock is approaching twelve. Here, above the forest near Moscow, the silhouette of an airplane appears. Tu-134 smoothly landing...

So, six months of the most difficult training in preparation for the flight are behind us. Behind the dramatic events of the return to Earth, and before that - six days of hard work on the Mir, calculated by the hour, by the minutes of the program scientific research. The scientists of the two countries called it "Shamshad" - translated into Russian - "Lotus". By the way, this is the name of one of the most picturesque mountain peaks of the Hindu Kush, reminiscent of this flower. There is another meaning of the word "shamshad" - in Russian it can sound like "high, noble, beautiful." Yes, this value is quite suitable for the goals and objectives pursued by those dozens scientific experiments performed on the "Mir" by "Protons" and "Oceans". It fully reflects their humane, high orientation.

12.00 - Vladimir Lyakhov and Abdul Ahad Mohmand appear on the gangway of the plane that has just landed. Chasing a step, they approach the greeters.

The flight program of the Soviet-Afghan space crew fully implemented, - reports to the chairman State Commission Lieutenant General K. Kerimov, Colonel Lyakhov.

Hugs of friends, relatives, relatives. Jokes, laughter, a sea of flowers...

Cars are heading to Star City. The solemn ceremony of laying flowers at the monument to the pioneer of space Yuri Gagarin, the procession along the Alley of Heroes, the traditional rally ... "

After the flight, Abdul Ahad Momand received the highest Soviet and Afghan awards: the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Afghanistan, the Gold Star medal and the Afghan Order of the Sun of Freedom. He graduated from the Academy of the General Staff in Moscow, worked at the Afghan Space Research Institute, and for about six months served as Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Armenia.

But the historical process is inexorable: the Soviet troops left Afghanistan, and after that the regime of President Najibullah lasted a little more than three years.

The Mujahideen came to power when Mohmand was on a business trip to India. Mohmand did not dare to return to Afghanistan: he could not be forgiven for such close cooperation with the USSR. In addition, a civil war immediately broke out in the liberated country. “I myself am from the Pashtuns,” Momand explained his unenviable position, “who are now fighting against the Mujahideen, who have formed an alliance with the Tajiks. Not being a Tajik, I chose to leave.”

Having managed to take with him only a small suitcase with things, Mohmand and his family were forced to urgently flee to another country. He settled in Germany, in Stuttgart, becoming a political refugee. The Afghan cosmonaut could not go home even during the reign of the gloomy Taliban regime - his wife would have to give up her beloved profession of a journalist, and his two daughters would not be allowed to attend school.

The understudy of the Afghan cosmonaut Mohammed Dauran, a Tajik by origin, received the rank of general and the post of commander of the Air Force in the armed forces of the Mujahideen. Sometimes he could be seen on TV reports from Afghanistan, where there was a war with the Taliban - General Dauran commanded the Air Force of the Northern Alliance.

In Mohmand's small Stuttgart apartment, only one small photograph on the wall recalls his space feat. The suit, awards and souvenirs related to space remained in Kabul. The cosmonaut's brother, who remained in Afghanistan, told him by phone that the things were well hidden...

Used materials:

Baberdin V. "Pushing the Horizons", the newspaper "Red Star", August 30, 1988;
-Pokrovsky A. “Replenishment for Mir”, Pravda newspaper, August 30, 1988;
-Baberdin V. “Star meets Protons”, newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, September 12, 1988;
- Materials of G. Sibiryakov, G. Khozin, A. Fedorov, N. Da Costa, L. Rosenblum.

***
In the photo - Afghan cosmonaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand.

Abdul Ahad Mohmand, in a sense, became a victim of the political conjuncture that dominated the world astronautics during the Cold War. The Soviet leadership, which sent a “limited military contingent” to Afghanistan, and the top of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which maintained its power in the country on the bayonets of the Soviet troops, chose space as the arena for demonstrating “indestructible Soviet-Afghan friendship.”

In September 1987, the government of the RA (Republic of Afghanistan) and the Glavkosmos of the USSR signed an agreement on the flight of an Afghan cosmonaut to the Mir orbital station, scheduled for early 1989. Captain Mohmand was among the 457 applicants who began the selection process in November. At the first stage, the medical commission selected about 40 pilots and engineers who agreed to master the profession of an astronaut and who met the primary physical and psychological requirements for astronaut candidates.
After the third stage of selection, 8 finalists remained, sent to Moscow for an in-depth examination in January 1988. They were Captain Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Colonel Mohammed Dauran, Colonel Akar Khan, Major Shere Zamin, civilian pilot Mohammed Jahid and three civilian specialists: Amer Khan, Kyal Mohammed and Sira-Juden.

The commission was forced to hurry with the final choice. Then it was already clear that the Soviet troops would soon leave Afghanistan, and therefore it was necessary to carry out the flight of an Afghan cosmonaut before this cardinal event. It was immediately clear to the members of the commission that Abdul Ahad Mohmand and Mohammed Dauran had clear advantages. Both were military pilots, studied in the Soviet Union, had a higher military education, spoke Russian fluently and were well acquainted with aviation technical terminology.

Astronauts from the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
M.G. Dauran (left) and A.A. Mohmand. Star City, August 1988.

Momand was born in 1959 in the province of Ghazni, at the age of 17 he entered the Kabul Polytechnic University. The next year he was sent to the USSR to study as a military pilot. He studied at the Krasnodar and Kiev military aviation schools. In 1981, he returned to his homeland, served in military aviation, then was again sent to the USSR to study at the Air Force Academy. Yu.A. Gagarin and graduated from it in 1987.

On February 25, 1988, Afghan pilots arrived in Star City and the next day began intensive training.
As is usually the case, political initiatives ran counter to work plans. Therefore, it was necessary to form crews (primary and backup) without flight engineers. The crew commanders were experienced cosmonauts who had been trained as rescue cosmonauts and were able to pilot a spacecraft without a flight engineer.

Since political circumstances required the speedy passage of pre-flight training, her program was significantly reduced. So, for example, since the flight was supposed to take place in August, the Afghan cosmonauts did not work out how to survive in winter conditions. Was not in their program and training for action in desert areas. At the same time, together with the Soviet crew members, the Afghan cosmonauts had to undergo specialized training to develop water landing skills. M.Dauran, however, did not go through these trainings either.
On August 29, 1988, the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. The Afghan cosmonaut took with him two copies of the Koran, the national flag and a set of envelopes for special cancellation on board the Mir. Two days later, the ship docked with the Mir station.
Over the next six days, Vladimir Lyakhov, Valery Polyakov and Abdul Ahad Momand worked at the station together with the main crew: Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov. Acting as a research cosmonaut, Mohmand participated in many experiments. One of them, which was of great importance for his homeland, was photographing from space the territory of his country, on the basis of which the first ever complete cartographic atlas of Afghanistan was compiled.
The return to Earth turned out to be quite dramatic for the international crew. Valery Polyakov remained to work on the Mir, and Vladimir Lyakhov and Abdul Ahad Momand undocked from the orbital station on September 6, 1988 on the Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft and began operations to return.
Immediately after undocking, the most experienced cosmonaut Lyakhov made two serious mistakes (one of which, however, he immediately corrected). Probably, in addition to everything, the lack of a flight engineer had an effect. Ground Mission Control Center (MCC) also did not correct the commander. As a result, instead of diverging from the station, the ship began to rotate near it, which threatened with a collision. After discussing the situation with the MCC, Vladimir Lyakhov turned on the necessary sensors, and the rotation stopped.

Only after 5 minutes did the MCC understand what had happened, and they experienced a real shock, realizing that the life of the crew hung in the balance. There was an operator error and everything else ...
"You will descend on the next turn,- said the flight director Valery Ryumin to the cosmonauts. - We have already set the "setpoint" for the descent of 102 meters. "No way, - an angry Lyakhov answered him, - give me... You have already pawned once". There was an unpleasant pause, after which Ryumin got in touch and announced the decision made: to postpone the landing for a day in order to be guaranteed to get to the regular landing area in Kazakhstan.

You may be interested