Romanenko, Iurii

Born Aug. 1, 1944, in the settlement of Koltubanovskii, Buzuluk Raion, Orenburg Oblast. Pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR; colonel. Hero of the Soviet Union (1978). Member of the CPSU since 1965.

After graduating from the Chernigov Higher Aviation School for Pilots, Romanenko served as a flight instructor in the air force. He was named a cosmonaut in 1970. Between Dec. 10, 1977, and Mar. 16, 1978, Romanenko flew with G. M. Grechko aboard the Soyuz 26 spacecraft and the Salyut 6 orbiting station. He was commander of the mission, during which Soyuz 27 (manned by V. A. Dzhanibekov and O. G. Makarov) and Soyuz 28 (piloted by A. A. Gubarev and V. Remek) docked with the station. Romanenko’s flight time was 96 days 20 hr 20 min.

Romanenko has been granted the title Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and has been awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Star, and various medals.