Heroes Vietnamese are the first Asian in space

Phạm Tuân ([faːm˧ˀ˨ʔ twɜn˨˩] born 14 February 1947) is a retired Vietnam Air Force aviator and cosmonaut. He became the first Vietnamese citizen and the first person from an Asian country in space when he flew aboard the Soyuz 37 mission as an Interkosmos Research Cosmonaut.^[1][2] He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

Early life and military career[edit]

Phạm Tuân was born in Kiến Xương, Thái Bình province in northern Vietnam. In 1965, Tuân graduated from the Military Pilot School in the Soviet Union. He joined the VPAF, or Vietnam People's Air Force (North Vietnamese Air Force) in 1965, was later commissioned as a combat officer. He flew interceptor missions in a MiG-21 jet fighter against United States aircraft during the Vietnam War.

On the night of 27 December 1972, during Operation Linebacker II (also referred to as the Christmas Bombings), then-Major Phạm engaged a USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber using air-to-air missiles. He reported that his missiles struck the B-52, causing it to go down in flames. This claim, which would be the only B-52 downed in aerial combat, is disputed by U.S. records, which state that this B-52 was downed by a surface-to-air missile, also responsible for all other B-52s shot down during the campaign.^[3] In a book named "Hà Nội - Điện Biên Phủ trên không" (Hanoi - the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in the air) by Nguyễn Minh Tâm, published by Nhà xuất bản Quân đội Nhân dân Việt Nam (Viet Nam People's Army Publishing House), the author affirms that Phạm Tuân shot down the B-52 with two K-13 air-to-air missiles within a range of 4 kilometers.^[4]

Tuân said that because the B-52 was equipped with a large number of infrared decoys, he had to get close to the target (within 2-3 kilometers) in order to ensure the bomber's destruction, though the minimum safe range for launching missiles is at least 8 kilometers.

In 1973, Tuân was granted the title of "Hero of the People's Armed Forces" in Vietnam. In 1980, Tuân was awarded the "Vietnam Labor Hero" distinction. In 1989, Tuân was given the position of "Deputy Commander" within the Vietnam People's Air Force. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1999. During the year 2000, Tuan was the position of "Director of the General Department of Defense Industry". He eventually retired from government positions at the end of 2007.^[5]

Tuân received numerous distinctions for his service, including the Ho Chi Minh Order. He also was awarded the Order of Lenin and the rare honor of being one of the few foreigners to receive the title "Hero of the Soviet Union".

Interkosmos program[edit]

Tuân reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the VPAF before eventually training to be a research cosmonaut in the joint USSR-Vietnamese space program. Tuân was initially sent to the USSR to train as a radar engineer.^[6] There was a shortage of eligible Vietnamese pilots. This was due to most of the applicants not passing the fitness tests. Tuân was pressured into flight training. Due to this, Tuân was one of three Vietnamese pilots and engineers to be selected by the Soviet Union.^[7] On 1 April 1979, he was selected as a member of the sixth international crew for the Interkosmos program. His backup was Bùi Thanh Liêm. Tuân, along with Soviet cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko, was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 23 July 1980, on board the Soyuz 37 mission to the Salyut 6 space station. Tuân was informed only three days prior that he would be the main pilot of the Soyuz 37.

Before the official voyage, the Soviet Union was already amid another flight. This was the Bulgarian – Soviet flight. That flight had some complications that led to the mission being cancelled. Tuân was worried that his voyage would share the same fate. During his flight aboard the Soyuz 37, there were technical issues regarding the Soyuz 3’s engine system. Tuân was commanded to shut down all systems and inform Command of the situation. After this, Command restored the engine to normal and the mission continued. ^[5]

During his time in orbit, Tuân performed experiments on the melting of mineral samples in microgravity. He also carried out plant experiments on azolla and photographed Vietnam from orbit for mapping purposes. Tuân was in space for 7 days, 20 hours, and 42 minutes, completing 142 orbits, and returned to Earth on 31 July 1980.

Personal life[edit]

Tuân brought several things with him on the Soyuz 37 flight. These included pictures of former President Hồ Chí Minh, General Secretary Lê Duân, Hồ Chí Minh’s will, Vietnamese flags. He wanted to stamp all of these at the space station and bring it back to Earth.

Tuân has stated that his personal relationship with his Russian friends has continued to this day. Every year, he travels long distances to meet up with his fellow Russian cosmonauts.

Tuân is married and has two children. He is now a retired Lieutenant General, director of the General Department of Defense Industry of the Ministry of Defense, and is a non-elected member of the Vietnam National Assembly.

References[edit]

• Toperczer, Istvan. MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War. 2001, Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-84176-263-0.