22/3/81: Soyuz 39 lanched into space

On Sunday 22 March 1981 the Soyuz 39 manned space flight was launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, formerly of the Soviet Union.

The mission was notable for the fact that, it carried the first Mongolian cosmonaut, Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa (b. 1947, pictured above right), as well as the Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (left), making it part of the Soviet Interkosmos space program.

Soyuz 39 docked safely with the Salyut 6 space station a day later, where the two cosmonauts joined the resident crew to carry out scientific experiments, including studies of Mongolia from space.

source and pics: spacefacts.de