Mirosław Hermaszewski
Persons, originating from Poland

Mirosław Hermaszewski

Born September 15, 1941 in Lipniki, Wolynian Voivodship
Polish cosmonaut, the first citizen of Poland to make a spaceflight. He flew onboard the Soyuz 30 spacecraft.

In 1965 he graduated from the military pilotschool in Dęblin. In 1978 he was chosen from almost 500 Polish pilots to take part in the Intercosmos space program. Together with Pyotr Klimuk he spent almost eight days onboard the Salyut space station (from 17:27, June 27, 1978 until 16:31, July 5). During their time in orbit, they carried out experiments on geoscience and photographed the Earth's surface. They landed 300 km west of Tselinograd. He was awarded with the Hero of the Soviet Union title for that flight, one of only eight non-Soviet citizens to receive the award.

During the martial law in Poland Hermaszewski was a member of the Military Council of National Rescue (Wojskowa Rada Ocalenia Narodowego, WRON), a military quasi-government. After that he was a commander of the Fighter Pilots School in Dęblin. In 1988 he was promoted to general. Between 1991 and 1992 Hermaszewski served as a second-in-command of the Headquarters of the Airforce. He is currently retired.
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Polonica stamps:

Laos 1983, 12 IV
Madagascar 2011,
Mongolia 1980, 10 X
Vietnam 1983, 12 IV