‘From space, Nepal looks like a white necklace’

"Yuri Gagarin called us to space," said Neil Armstrong, the first man to set step on the moon. Armstrong was talking about Russian born Gagarin who in 1961 was the first cosmonaut to reach beyond the sky. This statement rightly summarises the fascination of humans to space and the dreams of reaching the stars. Vladimir Djanibekov is one of the lucky few who had travelled to space and that too five times.

To those who must be wondering how the earth must look like from space. Well, according to Djanibekov it’s simply ‘breathtaking’. "From space Nepal looks like a white necklace," he says. Djanibekov adds that of the few landmarks that can be viewed from space, the Himalayas are one of them. "The country is surrounded by brilliant white mountains."

For a man who has achieved so much in his lifetime, Djanibekov is actually quite simple. As he smokes a cigarette a sense of satisfaction can be seen in his face and he speaks about himself as follows: "most of my life I lived the planet ground, but all my life I dreamed of the sky, the peregrinations, the flights towards remote worlds".

To those young Nepalese who dream of becoming astronauts’ one day, Djanibekov has given some expert advice. He advises those young people to stick to some basic rules: education, maintain excellent physical fitness and lastly to dream. "But, the most important is to have the power to reach the dream," he says.

From early childhood Djanibekov dreamed of space. The stars and the universe fascinated him. "In 1957 the Sputnik spaceship was launched and it was then I knew I was to someday become an astronaut," he says. His inspirations can be traced to school, where his Physics teacher encouraged in following his dream to reach space. "My Physics teacher used to talk about the space and rockets," he recalls. After school he entered university in the Physics faculty. He then did his graduation working as a pilot trainer. He joined the crew of astronauts in 1970 and it was only after 8 years of gruelling training that he was able to set off to space. He trained at the Centre of Astronauts Training, Russia.

So, what does this man who has been to space five times have to say about Nepal? "It is a very beautiful country soaked in history," he replies. This is his first time in Nepal and he has enjoyed his stay. "Nepal has touched me," he says.

Of the five flights to space, his most memorable is abroad Salyut 7. A rescue crew, including Djanibekov, was launched to Salyut 7 on June 6, 1985. For the first time ever, a crew manually docked to a totally disabled space station. When Djanibekov entered the station, they found their future home with no lights, heat, power or radio equipment working. Large icicles hung from the life support system pipes, and all water aboard the station had frozen.

As the cosmonauts’ own limited supply of water and food was running out, an intense operation rehabilitated the facility. Djanibekov remembers using new tools to fix the space station. "It was a dangerous task," he recalls. "We had to often hang from the spaceship and work from outside." Despite the difficulties, Salyut 7 was in working order by the beginning of 1986 and he proved that he was a true cosmonaut.

Djanibekov, has been honoured twice with being the ‘Hero of the USSR’. He was born in Iskandar, an area of Tachkent, République of Ouzbékistan. He belongs to the team of the cosmonauts since 1970 and accomplished 5 cosmic flights between 1978 and 1985.