| Marina Popovich | |
|---|---|
| Born | Марина Лаврентьевна Васильева July 20, 1931 Leonenki, Smolenskaya oblast USSR |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Occupation | pilot, author |
| Known for | 102 world records |
Marina Popovich (Mari′na Lavre′ntievna Popo′vich, nee Vasi′liyeva, born July 20, 1931 in v. Leonenki, Smolenskaya oblast) is a retired Soviet Air Force colonel, engineer, and legendary Soviet test pilot who holds 107 aviation world records set on over 40 types of aircraft. She is one of the most famous pilots in Russian history, and one of the most important female pilots of all-time.[1]
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Marina Vasilieva became a Soviet Air Force pilot and in 1964, a military test pilot. She authored nine books and two screenplays. Among many other awards, she has been honored as Hero of Socialist Labor, the Order of Courage (presented personally by Vladimir Putin in June 2007)[2] and a star in the Cancer constellation bears her name.[3]
Marina Popovich has been outspoken about UFO reality. She wrote a book called UFO Glasnost (published in 2003 in Germany) and given public lectures and interviews. She has mentioned over 3000 UFO sightings by Soviet military and civilian pilots. Although qualifying that her statements are not official, she says that the Soviet Air Force and KGB have fragments of five crashed UFOs in their possession. The crash sites mentioned were Tunguska (1908), Novosibirsk, Tallinn/Estonia, Ordzhonikidze/Caucasus, and Dalnegorsk (1986). Popovich said debris was analyzed and the conclusion was that it wasn't manufactured on Earth with terrestrial technology.
In 1991, she also displayed what she claims is the last photo taken by the Russian probe Phobos 2, before it lost contact with Earth and disappeared. This photo shows an unexplained cylindrical figure, which could be a camera artifact.
She was married to Pavel Popovich, a former Soviet cosmonaut, until they divorced,[4] with Pavel Popovich later remarrying.[5] They have two daughters.