EDITORIAL: Saluting Ukraine's cosmonaut (11/23/97)

EDITORIAL

Saluting Ukraine's cosmonaut

November 19 marked a historic milestone for Ukraine as the first Ukrainian cosmonaut flew in a U.S. spacecraft. Col. Leonid Kadenyuk also became the first Ukrainian cosmonaut of independent Ukraine to travel into space. He lifted off into the heavens as the payload specialist on the Columbia for STS-87, as this mission is designated.

It is interesting to note that Chernivtsi-born Col. Kadenyuk, 46, has trained long and hard - for over 20 years - for this opportunity. He graduated from the Chernihiv Higher Aviation School, the State Scientific Research Institute of the Russian Air Forces and the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, and he earned a master of science in mechanical engineering from the Moscow Aviation Institute. He was a test pilot, flying in 57 types of aircraft, and a test cosmonaut as well. In fact, he was trained to be commander of the Soyuz and the Buran (the USSR's space shuttle). But his dream of space goes back even further. "I've dreamed of flying in space from childhood, so that the accomplishment of this space flight will be the realization of my dream," he said in an interview that appears on a NASA website. "I have trained for space flight. I began in 1976, and I believe that every person has his destiny, and my destiny has been to wait for such a long time."

It wasn't until after Ukraine declared independence in 1991, however, that Col. Kadenyuk's chance would come. On November 22, 1994, during a state visit by newly elected Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma to the United States, the Bilateral Civil Space Agreement was signed, outlining various areas of U.S.-Ukraine cooperation - among them astronaut exchanges and joint missions. In 1996 Col. Kadenyuk and an alternate, Dr. Yaroslav Pustovyi (a first lieutenant in the air force, who was born in 1970 in Russia and studied in Leningrad/St. Petersburg), were selected by the National Space Agency of Ukraine for the position of payload specialist aboard the U.S. space shuttle. They were sent to the U.S. to undergo training for the STS-87 mission.

Obviously aware of the significance of his role and his own place in history, Col. Kadenyuk told his NASA interviewer: "I think that the first Ukrainian who was in space was our legendary Pavlo Romanovych Popovych, who was cosmonaut number four in the Soviet Union. But now, of course, since Ukraine has become independent, this will be the first flight of a Ukrainian. ... And I believe that the first flight of any cosmonaut of any government, is a very important event in the life of that country. ... I am very proud that it has fallen to me to play this role, to be the first cosmonaut of an independent Ukraine. And I will do everything I can to be worthy of this honor."

Col. Kadenyuk also noted that he would like this mission to be remembered "as the start of a great cooperation in manned space flight between Ukraine and the United States." He added that Ukraine has the potential of becoming a power in worldwide space endeavors, pointing to the fact that Ukraine builds modern launch vehicles like the Zenit. He pledged to do everything possible as a cosmonaut "to allow the National Space Agency of Ukraine and Ukrainian space efforts to develop."

Like many other Ukrainian Americans - indeed, Ukrainians around the globe - we at The Weekly watched Columbia's liftoff on November 19 at 2:46 p.m. And we raised a toast to "our astronaut." The words of Col. Kadenyuk rang true: "This is a tremendous event in the history of my country, so of course, this flight will be remembered. It will be remembered by the Ukrainian people ..." Clearly, from his words (and those of Dr. Pustovyi, which were published in an interview in our sister publication, Svoboda, on November 20), we can see that Ukraine has a lot of be proud of as its cosmonaut circles the Earth in Columbia.

Therefore, we offer our salute.

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