who, at one time, held a space endurance record. A cardiologist at the Institute of Medical Biological Problems in Moscow, Atkov was selected in 1977 for Russia’s planned Salyut/Mir long-duration biomedical missions. He began cosmonaut training in 1983 and was launched to Salyut-7 on 8 February 1984 aboard a Soyuz rocket. He returned to Earth on 2 October 1984 after spending nearly 237 days in space, setting a new space endurance record together with crew members Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov. The record has since been exceeded. Atkov retired from being a cosmonaut after his return.