Mirosław Hermaszewski

Mirosław Hermaszewski (born September 15, 1941), is a retired Polish Air Force officer and cosmonaut. He became the first (and to this day remains the only) Polish national in space when he flew aboard the Soyuz 30 spacecraft in 1978.

Early life
Mirosław Hermaszewski was born in Lipniki, Wolynian Voivodship in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, in present day - Ukraine. He is a survivor of the Volhynian massacres during World War II, during which Ukrainian nationalists murdered 19 members of his family, including his father.

Intercosmos program
In 1965, he graduated from the military pilot school 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 on board the Salyut 6 space station (from 17:27, June 27, 1978 'til 16:31, July 5). During their time in orbit, they carried out geoscience experiments and photographed the Earth.

They landed 300 km west of Tselinograd. He was awarded with the Hero of the Soviet Union title for that flight.

Afterwards
During the period of martial law in Poland, Hermaszewski was a member of the Military Council of National Salvation (Wojskowa Rada Ocalenia Narodowego, WRON), a military quasi-government. Later, 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.

Mirosław Hermaszewski enjoys science fiction novels, hunting, sailing and various other sports. He is married to Emilia Hermaszewska and has two children, Miroslaw (born 1966) and Emilia (born 1974).