Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez
File:Arnaldo tamayo méndez.jpeg
Nationality	Cuban
Occupation	Pilot
Space career
Time in space	7d 20h 43m
Selection	1978 Intercosmos Group
Missions	Soyuz 38

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born January 29, 1942) was the first Cuban cosmonaut and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the U.S. to travel to space. he was also the first Hispanophone and first person of African ancestry in space.

Born in Guantánamo, Tamayo graduated from the Air Force Academy and became a pilot in the Cuban Air Defence Force. He was selected as part of the seventh international programme for Intercosmos on March 1, 1978. His backup cosmonaut was fellow Cuban José López Falcón.

Tamayo, along with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko, was launched into space as part of the Soyuz 38 from Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 18, 1980, at 19:11 UTC. After docking with Salyut 6, Tamayo and Romanenko conducted experiments in an attempt to find what caused space sickness, and perhaps even find a cure. After 124 orbits and 7 days, 20 hours and 43 minutes, Tamayo and Romanenko landed 180 km from Dzhezkazgan. The landing was risky, as it was in darkness.

Following his career as a cosmonaut, Tamayo was made director of the Militar Patriotic Educational Society (the Cuban version of the "Boy Scouts") known as "SEPMI" and also, as Brigadier General, he became Director of the International Affairs Director in the Cuban armed forces.

Tamayo is married to Maria Lobaina and has two sons, Orlando (born 1968) and Arnaldo (born 1970). To date he has not been honoured with induction into the International Space Hall of Fame. There has been a novel written about him entitled "The Jig Is up: The Col. Tamayo-Mendez Story."

External link

• Spacefacts biography of Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez