Editing Valentin Lebedev (section)

===Cosmonaut career===
After his graduation from the Moscow Aviation Institute, Lebedev worked for 23 years at the Central Design Bureau "Energy" (SPU "Energy") of the Soviet Scientific Production Union<ref>Known today as the Main Design Bureau "Energy" of the SPU</ref> as an engineer, senior research fellow, and a methodology instructor in the cosmonaut's detachment.

In 1967 Lebedev participated in an expedition of the Eighth Naval Squadron to locate, rescue, and rehabilitate the spaceship [[Zond program|Zond]] after its landing in the Indian Ocean.

In 1968 Lebedev led the specialists in Bombay supporting [[Zond 5]], which flew around the Moon and returned to Earth. He continued leading technical detachments in the flying, design, testing and control of the spaceship [[Soyuz (spacecraft)|Soyuz]] and [[Soyuz T]], and the orbiting space stations [[Salyut 4]], [[Salyut 5]], and [[Salyut 6]].

Valentin Lebedev trained as a cosmonaut from 1971–1973, at the [[Yuri Gagarin|Yuri A. Gagarin]] Center for Cosmonaut Training. He earned a diploma in 1972, given the title Cosmonaut Investigator, and taken on to the cosmonaut's team ZKBEM. His first space flight was with Peter Klimuk, as a crew engineer aboard [[Soyuz 13]], which orbited Earth from 18–26 December 1973. After this space flight, Lebedev was awarded a gold medal, "Hero of Soviet Union", the Order of Lenin, and promoted to the rank of Pilot Cosmonaut.

In 1982 Lebedev, along with [[Anatoly Berezovoy]], spent 211 days in space (13 May – 10 December) as a crew engineer of the space station [[Salyut 7]]. During this mission Lebedev conducted more than 300 scientific experiments and studies. The 211-day flight was a record for that time, and recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. During that flight, an additional entry in to the Guinness Book of Records was filed under "First species of [[Plants in space|plant to flower in space]]", when his Arabidopsis flowered in July. After that space flight, Lebedev was awarded a second gold medal, "Hero of Soviet Union", and a second Order of Lenin.

In 2000 he became the first cosmonaut ever elected to the Russian Academy of Science.

Lebedev retired from the space program in 1993.