#cosmonauts
April 12th marks the anniversary of two huge firsts in space exploration: The launch of a human into space, and the launch of a reusable space shuttle.
The human in question was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who piloted the Vostok 1 into Earth’s orbit in 1961.
The space shuttle in question was NASA’s Columbia, seen here lifting off in the control of Commander John Young and Pilot Robert Crippen in 1981.
Learn more in How the Space Race Worked.
[Photo credits: NASA and more NASA]
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Leonid Kizim, 1984, Soyuz T-10
Sergei Korolev and Valentin Glushko, two Soviet rocket engineers that had a big impact on the Soviet Space Program, were both arrested by the NKVD and tortured in the Gulag during Stalin’s Great Purge in 1938. They were both freed in 1944, but the charges against Korolev didn’t drop until 1957. Although they did work together in building rockets, they didn’t get along very well
54 years ago today on March 18, the Soviet Union launched Vokshod-2 into space, with the pilot being Alexei Leonov and the commander being Pavel Belyayev. Leonov became the first man to spacewalk, that lasted for a total of 12 minutes.
Happy 92nd birthday to Vladimir Komarov!
One of my favorite cosmonauts, he was originally selected for the first cosmonauts in 1960, but would later be removed due to not being able to meet the age, height, and weight requirements. But he would contribute to the designs for Voskok and Voskhod, and his friends have been quoted of saying that he was a great friend and had a brilliant mind. Korolev himself said that if Komarov met the age, height, and weight requirements back in 1960, he would’ve undoubtedly chosen Komarov for Vostok-1.
His life was almost as short as Yuri’s, he died only a month after his 40th birthday. But he’ll always be remembered as someone who was brave, someone who tried to save their friend from dying. We will never forget the things Komarov accomplished during his short lived life. ❤️❤️
Vladimir Komarov during his Cuba visit in 1965
Happy 85th birthday to Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space!
Personally one of my favorite historical figures, Yuri was the reason why I became so interested in the Space Race/the history of space exploration. He was a down to earth and caring person, and befriended almost everyone he met. His spaceflight was the start of a new era for science and technology, and he’ll always be remembered for that. Although he died at the age of only 34, his legacy still lives on over 50 years after his spaceflight, and his legacy will continue to live on. ❤️❤️❤️
On July 25, 1984, Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to spacewalk. She flew two space flights: Soyuz T-5/Soyuz T-7 and Soyuz T-12. It was during Soyuz T-12 that she did a spacewalk. Cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov and her conducted an EVA outside on the Salyut-7 space station, and they spent over 3 hours outside the spacecraft. Happy Internaitonal Women’s Day!
Happy 82nd birthday to the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova! С днём рождения !
Cosmonaut Yegeny Khrunov, backup pilot for Voskhod-2 (1965)
A young Yuri Gagarin
Also, a happy 75th birthday to cosmonaut/flight engineer Alexander Serebrov. He held the record for the most number of spacewalks, 10, until cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev beat his number with a total of 16 spacewalks. Serebrov contributed to the deigns for the Salyut-6, Salyut-7, and Mir space stations, and a “space motorcycle” named Icarus. He was quite the man!
Not related to the Soviet space program, but I wanted to make this post because Roger Chaffee has a special place in my heart. Today marks the 84th birthday of astronaut Roger Chaffee. Although he died over 50 years ago, he will always be remembered in our hearts and his legacy will live in. We hope that now he’s gotten his chance to fly out of this world and travel to the moon and other planets. Rest easy and fly high, Roger.
Happy birthday to the first Asian and Vietnamese man in space, Phạm Tuân!! He turns 72 today
Cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyayev training for Voskhod-2
Boris Yegorov, the first physician in space, who flew on Voskhod-1 with cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov and Konstantin Feokistov in 1964.
Voskhod-1 was also the first spaceflight to have more than one man in a spacecraft at a time
A cosmonaut who recently became a favorite of mine’s, Boris Volynov! One of the few remaining members of air force group 1 who are still alive, and also the first Jew in space!
Boris Volynov and Vladimir Komarov were the two possible captain choices for Voskhod-1 in 1965, and the final decision was Komarov as captain. He was also scheduled to fly on Voskhod-3 2 years later, but the flight was cancelled after Sergei Korolev’s death and the Voskhod program was terminated completely. It wasn’t until 1969, when Volynov was finally able to fly to space for the first time on Soyuz-5, making him the first Jew in space
