Sevastyanov Vitaly Ivanovich, first of all, is known for his flights into space. This man worked at a time when the Soviet Union held a leading position in space exploration. He was not just the one who sat in the manned ship. Vitaly Ivanovich was engaged in scientific activities, was associated with everything related to space exploration. We suggest you familiarize yourself with his biography.
early years
Sevastyanov Vitaly Ivanovich was born in the family of a driver and a seamstress. It happened on July 8, 1935 in Krasnouralsk (Sverdlovsk region). Immediately after the war (in 1945), the whole family moved to live in Sochi. This city became for Vitaly Ivanovich the second homeland.
In 1953, a young man graduated from high school with a gold medal, then entered the Moscow Aviation Institute. As a student, the young man began his career in the ninth department of OKB in the technical field. In addition to working in the department, he taught at the Cosmonaut Training Center, and studied in graduate school. And he soon became a candidate of technical sciences.
First flight
Sevastyanov Vitaly Ivanovich began preparing for the first flight in 1969. Before that, there was work on possible flights to the moon, but as a result of many unsuccessful attempts, the program was closed. The USA was recognized as the leader in this direction.
The launch itself took place on June 01, 1970 from the city of Baikonur, or rather the cosmodrome, which is part of the complex common with the city. The astronaut went into space on the Soyuz-9 spacecraft as a flight engineer. His partner was Andriyan Nikolaev. The crew stayed in space at that time a record time - 17 days, 16 hours, 58 minutes and 55 seconds.
The flight program included various scientific, technical and biomedical studies.
Returning to Earth was a serious test for the astronaut. He and his partner could not immediately adapt to Earth's gravity. The men spent six days in the hospital. This phenomenon was called the "Nikolaev effect." Specialists realized that it was necessary to develop simulators for long space flights.
Second flight
The next time, Sevastyanov Vitaly Ivanovich flew into space after almost five years. The launch took place on May 24, 1975 from the cosmodrome, located near the city of Baikonur. The astronaut flew as a flight engineer.
Pyotr Klimukov went with him on the Soyuz-18 ship. They moved to the Salyut-4 station, which flew around the orbit. In space, Vitaly Ivanovich spent sixty two days twenty three hours twenty minutes. During this time, his crew conducted a lot of research and experimentation. They studied the long-term stay of man in space, explored the Sun, planets and stars in the range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Photographic and spectrographic studies of silver clouds and auroras were made.
If we consider the flight on the Soyuz-9 and Soyuz-18 spacecraft, then the astronaut spent 80 days, 16 hours, 19 minutes and 3 seconds outside the Earth. After that, he took part many times in preparation for flights among the reserve crews, but he never flew beyond Earth.
Political and social activities
After a flight with Klimuk, Vitaly Ivanovich Sevastyanov, whose brief biography is considered by us, completed his career as an astronaut. Since space flights were very popular, all the astronauts who made them became real heroes. Naturally, such people did not get a job at the factory. At the end of their careers, they were engaged in social activities.
The main activities of Sevastyanov:
- delegate of the twenty-fifth congress of the CPSU;
- Head of the USSR Chess Federation;
- People's Deputy of the RSFSR in the Sverdlovsk Region from the Communists;
- representative of the Patrons of the Century Foundation;
- was one of those who in 1991 voted for the Bialowieza agreement, which ceased to exist in the USSR;
- was one of the co-chairs of the Socialist Workers Party, which later merged with the Communist Party;
- He was a deputy of the State Duma of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth convocations.
During his work in the State Duma of the Russian Federation, he was the chairman of the Mandate Commission, was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and was a representative of the commission on geopolitics.
last years of life
In connection with the transition to service in the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Vitaly Ivanovich left the cosmonaut corps in 1993. He was engaged in social activities until the end of his life.
Sevastyanov Vitaly Ivanovich (cosmonaut) died in Moscow. It happened on April 5, 2010. It is known that the last few years, our hero was seriously ill. He survived his wife Alevtina for three years. They still have a common daughter, Natalya (b. 1962).
The astronaut is buried at the Ostankino cemetery next to his wife. During his life he received about twenty honorary titles and awards.
Interesting Facts
During his first visit to space, Sevastyanov took part in the world's first chess tournament between an astronaut and a man on Earth. The game went on for six hours and ended in a draw. Sevastyanov and Nikolaev played against Kamanin and Gorbatko. The chess game was greatly extended in time, since the exchange of moves was possible only in communication sessions. They occurred at those moments when the ship flew over the USSR. Special figures were created for the party. So that they do not fly around the ship, they were designed with grooves. Today, a chessboard with pieces is in the Chess Museum in Moscow.
According to declassified data, it became known that the ship on which Sevastyanov made his second flight should be called Soyuz-18-2. The first manned spacecraft was destroyed as a result of an unsuccessful launch.
For many years Sevastyanov was the host of the program “Man. Land. Universe ”, which was shown on Central Television. The project was filmed in the 1970-1980s. The subjects of the plots corresponded to the name of the program. The host and guests of the studio analyzed the latest achievements in the study of the surrounding space, the development of astronautics in the Soviet Union and the world, examined scientific achievements, spoke about outstanding personalities who devoted their lives to space. Vitaly Ivanovich was able to explain the most complex things in an accessible way, he was an excellent conversationalist. Many viewers of the older generation remember his slender fit appearance and velvet voice.