Soyuz 1
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Soyuz 1 (Russian Союз 1, Union 1) was part of the Soviet Union's space program and was launched into orbit on April 23, 1967, carrying a single cosmonaut, Colonel Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov, who was killed when the spacecraft crashed during its return to Earth. This was the first in-flight fatality in the history of manned spaceflight. Launched at 3:35am local time, this was also the first night launch of a manned space vehicle.
Mission Chronology
Mission planners originally intended to launch a second Soyuz spacecraft into orbit on the next day carrying three cosmonauts - Valery Fyodorovich Bykovsky, Yevgeny Vassilyevich Khrunov, and Aleksei Stanislavovich Yeliseyev - and two of those were planned to do an EVA to Soyuz 1.Shortly after launch, problems began when one solar panel failed to unfold, leading to a shortage of power for the spacecraft's systems. Also, problems with the orientation detectors complicated maneuvering the craft. By orbit 13, the automatic stabilization system was completely dead, and the manual system was only partially effective. The crew of the second Soyuz had, by now, modified their mission goals, and begun preparing themselves for a launch that would include fixing the solar panel of Soyuz 1, but heavy rain at Baikonur is reported to have made the launch impossible. It is believed that, in reality, Soyuz 2 never launched because of the severity of problems with Soyuz 1 in orbit.
As a result of Komarov's report after 13 orbits, the flight control director faced the truth and began making preparations for the abort and reentry attempt. Valentina, wife and mother of two, was brought in and seated at a private console for a few precious moments. Vladimir Komarov, who was ill from the violent motions of his ship, remained calm and was able to say good-bye.
After 18 orbits, Soyuz 1 fired retro-rockets and was deorbited as soon as it passed above the USSR again, although the pilot had little control. Despite all of the technical difficulties up to that point, Komarov might still have landed safely, but the main parachute did not unfold due to problems with a pressure sensor, and the manually deployed reserve chute tangled, making the spacecraft fall to Earth nearly unbraked, at about 400 miles per hour. Large retro-rockets should have fired to further slow the descent. Instead, at impact, there was an explosion and an intense fire surrounded the capsule. Local farmers rushed to try to put it out, but Komarov would have already been dead, from the initial impact.
According to [some reports], Komarov cursed the engineers and flight staff as he descended. Later inspection of the second Soyuz spacecraft (Soyuz 2) showed the same problem with the parachute, which might have doomed all four cosmonauts if the launch had proceeded. The original mission of Soyuz 1 and 2 was later carried out by Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5.
Komarov was given a state funeral, and is buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis at Red Square, Moscow. Some reports (including Moon Shot by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton) suggest that flight controllers told him before his re-entry attempt that he would receive that honour.
Legacy of Technical Difficulties
Unlike other manned spacecraft of the time, the Soyuz had never been successfully flown on an unmanned testflight - all the previous flights had encountered some problem. Yuri Gagarin was the backup pilot for Soyuz 1. He was aware of the design problems and the pressures from the Politburo to proceed with the flight. He attempted to "bump" Komarov from the mission, knowing that the Soviet leadership would not risk a national hero on the flight.A few weeks before launch, Komarov had said, "If I don't make this flight, they'll send the backup pilot instead. That's (Yuri), and he'll die instead of me."
Despite problems with Soyuz 1, "objections from the engineers were overruled by political pressures for a series of space feats to mark the anniversary of Lenin's birthday." http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/24/newsid_2523000/2523019.stm Engineers detected 200 design faults with the spacecraft before launch but government officials pressed for a space test to continue the trend of beating the United States in the Space Race and have Soviets first on the Moon. Soyuz 1 problems delayed the launch of Soyuz 2 and Soyuz 3 until October 25, 1968. This eighteen-month delay and the following explosion of an unmanned N-1 booster on July 3, 1969 scuttled Soviet plans of landing a cosmonaut on the Moon.
What did emerge from this year-and-a-half delay was a much better Soyuz program, mirroring, in some ways, the improvements made in the U.S. space program after the Apollo 1 tragedy.
Crew
- Vladimir Komarov (second spaceflight)
External links
| Preceded by: Voskhod 2 | Soyuz programme | Followed by: Soyuz 2 |
Notes
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