(VOVworld) - President Truong Tan Sang met Tuesday with former Soviet astronaut Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko, who together with Vietnamese astronaut Pham Tuan made a successful flight into space 35 years ago. President Sang said Gorbatko’s visit coincides with activities marking Vietnam’s 70^th National Day and the 35^th anniversary of the Vietnam-Soviet Union flight into space. Recalling the historic trip made by Gorbatko and Pham Tuan 35 years ago, President Sang said it was the first flight into space by a Vietnamese national and marked a milestone in the development of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and what is now Russia. He asked Russian scientists to help their Vietnamese peers to access space studies for peaceful purposes. Gorbatko described his trip into space with Pham Tuan as an unforgettable memory and said he never forgets the warm reception Vietnamese people give him whenever he visits Vietnam. He expressed his belief that his visit this time will contribute to space research cooperation between the two nations.