8x10 B&W glossy vintage photograph signed "Valery Kubasov 11.5.75" in ballpoint ink. Light corner wear, but otherwise in good condition.(1935-2014) Valery Nikolaevich Kubasov was a Soviet/Russian cosmonaut who flew on two missions in the Soyuz program as a flight engineer: Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 19 (the Apollo–Soyuz mission) and commanded Soyuz 36 in the Intercosmos program. On 21 July 1975, the Soyuz 7K-TM module used for ASTP landed in Kazakhstan at 5:51 p.m. and Kubasov was the first to exit the craft. Kubasov performed the first welding experiments in space, along with Georgy Shonin.Kubasov was also involved in the development of the Mir space station. He retired from the Russian space program in November 1993 and was later deputy director of RKK Energia.Kubasov evaded death twice during his space career. He was part of the crew that was originally intended to fly Soyuz 2, which was found to have the same faulty parachute sensor that resulted in Vladimir Komarov's death on Soyuz 1 and was later launched without a crew. Later, he was grounded for medical reasons before the Soyuz 11 flight, which killed the crew when the capsule was accidentally depressurized by a faulty valve.This lot came from the Jim Wiggins collection we purchased in July 2022. Jim Wiggins accumulated the most unique and valuable autograph collection over a period of 70-plus years. He obtained his collection either in person or by writing to persons of fame and notoriety. Comes with a full Letter of Authenticity from Todd Mueller Authentics.