#FirstInSpace

🚀 Today Soviet cosmonaut #PavelPopovich, a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union, would have turned 96. He was the fourth Soviet cosmonaut and the sixth person overall to travel into orbit, participating in two historic space missions in 1962 and 1974.

P.Popovich commanded the #Vostok4 spaceflight which, alongside Andriyan Nikolayev aboard Vostok 3, marked the first time multiple crewed spacecraft operated in orbit simultaneously.

✨ In recognition of his legacy, a mountain ridge in Antarctica and the Mars-crossing asteroid "8444 Popovich" were named in his honour.

#RussianSpaceExploration