Ulaanbaatar
This day marks 36th anniversary of Mongolia's space travel
PoliticsUlaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On this day 36 years ago, a Mongolian flew into space. Jugderdemidiin Gurragchaa along with the Soviet cosmonaut V.A.Janibekov took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 14.58 of March 22, 1981.
Mongolia’s first and only space traveler J.Gurragchaa was born on December 5 of 1947 in Gurvanbulag soum of Bulgan aimag. After graduating from a local high school, Gurragchaa went to serve in the army in 1966. In 1971, he studied in the aviation academy of the former Frunze of USSR, modern-day Bishkek, the capital city of the Kyrgyz Republic.
J.Gurragchaa graduated in 1973 from Jukov’s Air Force Academy in Moscow.
From 1978, he had begun training as cosmonaut along with his Mongolian colleague M.Ganzorig at the Space Training Centre named after Yurii Gagarin. At the time, he was a Captain in the Mongolian People’s Army.
Between 2000 and 2004, he was the Minister of Defense and a member of the cabinet headed by Nambaryn Enkhbayar. In 2004, he was elected to the State Great Khural (Parliament). He was not re-elected.
