Early Life and Military Career
Born in Lovech, Georgi Kakalov attended the Military Air-force School in Dolna Mitropolia. After completing the five-year program, he served in the Bulgarian People's Army as a military pilot. A few years later he became an instructor and head of a division.
As soon as he entered the Soviet International Space Programme Intercosmos in 1978, he had to change his family name to Ivanov, because his original surname Kakalov occasionally had negative connotations in Russian. After intensive training, Ivanov was selected for the fourth mission under the Intercosmos program.
Read more about this topic: Georgi Ivanov
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