The tragic death of a Soviet astronaut falling from space

Vladimir Komarov was an exceptionally talented Soviet cosmonaut. But he is best remembered for his death, with the nickname 'the man who fell from space'.

In 1967, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Russian February Revolution, Soviet astronaut Vladimir Komanov was sent on a historic trip into space. But unfortunately, the trip ended in tragedy.

Although there are doubts about the Soyuz 1 spacecraft mission being too rushed and having problems, we know this clearly: Komarov has flown many times around Earth's orbit with his ship. himself, struggled to re-enter the atmosphere, and finally fell to the ground, dying in a terrifying explosion.

There are still many unclear details about the events leading up to the tragedy, but there is no doubt that his death is a testament to the never-ending Cold War race to conquer space.

Cosmonaut Komanov in 1964, a few years before his death. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).

Ambition and career are tied to the sky

Before becoming a Soviet cosmonaut, Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov was a boy passionate about flight. Born in Moscow on March 16, 1927, from a young age Komarov was always fascinated by aviation and planes.

Komarov joined the Soviet Air Force when he was 15 years old. In 1949, he became a pilot. Around the same time, Komarov married Valentina Yakovlevna Kiselyova, a woman who admired his love of the sky.

He once said : 'Whoever has flown once, whoever has flown a plane once will never want to part with the plane or the sky'.

Vladimir Komarov with his wife Valentina and daughter Irina in 1967. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).

In 1959, he graduated from the Zhukovzky Air Force Engineer Academy. And long before that, Komarov had a desire to become an astronaut. He was chosen as one of the first 18 people to be trained in this new field.

By this time, World War II had become a distant memory, and it was clear that outer space was becoming the next battlefield in the Cold War.

For Komarov, the sky seems to be the limit. In 1964, he made a personal mark when he succeeded with the Voskhod 1 mission - the first ship to carry one person into space. Although not the first person to fly into space - an honor closely associated with Yuri Gagarin's name - Komarov is respected for his talent and bravery.

A 1964 postage stamp commemorates Komanov's success with the Voskhod flight.

As the 50th anniversary of the Russian February Revolution approached, the Soviet government resolved to implement a special plan for 1967. And Komarov seemed the perfect person to carry it out.

Man falls from space

This mission sets a rather ambitious goal: The two spacecraft will rendezvous in low Earth orbit. Komarov would park his ship right next to the other ship, then perform a spacewalk between the two ships.

Illustration of the Soyuz I spacecraft that Komanov piloted during the tragedy.

From there, the story started to get dark. According to the book "Starman" published in 2011, Komarov's Soyuz I spacecraft had '203 structural problems' before the flight.

As Komanov's backup pilot, famous cosmonaut Gagarin is said to have argued for the mission to be postponed. He even wrote a 10-page memo to Venyamin Russayev, a friend in the KGB (Soviet intelligence). But that record was ignored.

'Soviet designers faced political pressure for a new space feat. The Soyuz spacecraft was rushed into operation before all the problems were resolved,' author Francis French wrote in 'In the shadow of the Moon'.

Two Soviet astronauts Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov went hunting together. (Photo: Twitter).

In the dramatic retelling of "Starman" , Komarov feared he would die if he joined the mission, but refused to retreat to protect Gagarin - his reserve pilot and close friend.

But according to experts, Gagarin's selection as a reserve pilot was only nominal, because after becoming the first person to fly into space, he was considered a national treasure. Authorities are unlikely to send Gagarin on any mission if there are risks.

On April 23, 1967, Komarov departed on his fateful flight. In 24 hours, he orbited the Earth 16 times, but Komarov could not complete the mission's final goal.

That's because one of the two solar panels that provide power to the ship failed to open. Soviet authorities apparently canceled the launch of the second module and then directed Komarov to return to Earth.

Despite his skill, Komarov still had difficulty handling his ship and apparently had trouble braking the rocket. It took him two more flights around the Earth before he was finally able to fly back into the atmosphere.

Upon reaching an altitude of 23,000 feet, Komarov's parachute failed to open. It turned out that the chute's paths became tangled when problems occurred during the spacecraft's reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

Vladimir Komarov's body turned into a blackened mass in the tragedy. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).

So on April 24, 1967, Komarov plummeted to the ground and died in a terrifying explosion, making him the first person to die in a space flight.

According to the official record of Komarov's last moments (from the Russian State Archive), one of the last things he said to colleagues on the ground was: 'I feel great, everything is going according to quiet'. A moment later, he said: 'Thank you for conveying all that.'

After his fall from space, Komanov's body was said to be charred, and according to reports, only his heel bone was recognizable.

According to the later published diary of Nikolai Kamanin, leader of the cosmonaut training section of the Soviet space program, the Soyuz-1 crashed at a speed of 30-40 m/s and Komarov's body was deformed. heavy.

The Soviet Union did not announce the specific cause of the problems with the Soyuz-1 spacecraft. Kamanin wrote in his diary that Gagarin criticized program head Vasily Mishin's "poor understanding of the Soyuz spacecraft and its operational details, lack of cooperation when working with cosmonauts during operations flying and training". In an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, Gagarin said that authorities did not listen to the concerns that cosmonauts expressed about the Soyuz spacecraft.

On April 26, 1967, the Soviet Union held a state funeral in Moscow, and Komarov's ashes were buried at the Kremlin Wall Cemetery in Red Square. Komarov was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

Pravda newspaper published a message from colleagues about Komarov's death: "The task of pioneers is always difficult. They travel on unexplored roads, they are not straight but have sharp turns, unexpected and dangerous. But anyone who has gone into space never wants to leave it. No difficulty or obstacle can make such a man abandon the path he has chosen. A home Cosmonautics will always continue to challenge the universe. Vladimir Komarov was one of the first on this dangerous path."

In 1971, a memorial plaque and sculpture called 'Fallen Astronaut' was left on the Moon to commemorate Komanov and the 13 lost Soviet and American cosmonauts. network while on duty.