In 1987, Faris spent eight days in space with the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos spaceflight program becoming the first and only Syrian astronaut and second Arab to make it to space.
Mohammad Faris, known as the “Armstrong of the Arab World” and Syria’s only astronaut, died at the age of 72 in exile in the Turkish city of Gaziantep on Friday, from complications of a heart attack he suffered a month ago, according to a close friend who spoke to CNN over the phone. In 1987, Faris, a pilot in the Syrian Air Force, spent eight days in space with the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos spaceflight program.
Faris said the “curtain fell” in his dealings with Hafez al-Assad during their last meeting attended by Saudi astronaut Prince Sultan bin Salman. Assad reminded Faris of a moment during takeoff when he exclaimed “Ya Allah”, which literally translates as “Oh God” but in colloquial Arabic is akin to saying, “let’s go,” which Assad claimed was offensive to the Russians. Faris countered, “The Russians were not upset; it was a normal thing for them.
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