The Baikonur Cosmodrome at 3 a.m. on April 23, 1967 received two famous space explorers at once: Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov. On this fateful night, Yuri as a test understudy, and first of all, as a friend, accompanied his comrade on a flight on the Soyuz-1 spaceship. 35 minutes remained before the operation began, and the elevator took the astronauts to the top of the rocket to the ship. Gagarin stayed with Vladimir Komarov until the hatches closed and was the last who wished him good luck ... and said goodbye to him.
Secret offer
In 1959, as a military pilot, Vladimir Mikhailovich summoned the leadership to the office, where he was met by two representative people. One of them was a military doctor, and the second was a colonel of the Air Force. The young specialist was offered secret work and was told only that it would be necessary to test the equipment and fly at high altitude. “Finally,” thought Vladimir Komarov, because flying was his dream. Therefore, the answer was immediate and positive.
This year, test cosmonauts were selected, the main requirements were: height 1.7 meters, weight up to 70 kg and age up to 30 years. At that time, Vladimir was 32 years old, but his theoretical knowledge was necessary for the command, and he was in the squad of 20 chosen for secret tests.
Every day pilots had to run, train in a heat chamber, a centrifuge and jump with a parachute. Only after 3 months it became clear that the guys are preparing to send into space.
First flight
Of the recruits, it was planned to select only one space explorer, however, after the first flight of Yuri Gagarin, who was also selected among the top twenty, it was clear that the space exploration operation would not be limited to one person.
And on October 12, 1964, the world's first multi-seat ship Voskhod was sent into space. A crew of three is planned: a pilot, a doctor and an engineer. Vladimir Komarov is appointed crew commander. A decision is also made by the high command to send people without spacesuits, since there is not enough space for three in Voskhod.
The ship started at 7.30 in the morning, after which Komarov transmitted the traditional report to N. Khrushchev, and then, with a second call to the Kremlin, notified the progress of L. Brezhnev and D. Ustinov. However, party leaders were not in place. And this is no accident, because at that moment the “Small October Revolution” was being prepared, the purpose of which was to overthrow the current government.
Who should I report to?
From the first flight of Gagarin there was a tradition according to which the Secretary General met astronauts on Red Square for the solemn report of the latter about the operation.
After the Voskhod landing on board with Vladimir Komarov, N. Khrushchev was already removed from power, it is not known to whom to read the prepared report. While the Secretary General’s chair was left without a ruler, the crew of astronauts was not allowed out of Baikonur. The experts stayed behind closed doors for five days, as they flew away under N.S. Khrushchev, and returned, as will become known later, under L.I. Brezhnev.
When the crew was approved to arrive in Moscow, Vladimir at the time of the flight began to rewrite the report and the texts of the reports with the replacement of the official appeal. Of these, phrases now disappear: "Dear Nikita Sergeevich!"
Flying on Voskhod completely changes the life of a military pilot: from now on cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov is a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Help opponent
In the mid-60s, there were two space units: military and civilian specialists. There was hostility between the groups. According to Georgy Grechko, who was part of civilian astronauts, during physical training, guys from a military detachment surrounded rivals and found out why they had come to the space team. After all, the business of civil engineers is to build ships, and the guys from the military detachment are destined to fly them. But it was not so, the spacecraft spaces were occupied by civilian specialists.
In such an unspoken war, every member of the detachment was impregnated with dislike for the opponent, except for the benevolent Vladimir Komarov, who belonged to the military team. After the unsuccessful landing of George Grechko, during which his leg broke, the question arose about his deduction. But Vladimir, being from the opposite detachment, convinced the management to allow Grechko to allow him to give lectures at the cosmonaut training center and, after a complete recovery, return to training for space flight.
Health problems
Before the first flight in 1963, Vladimir Komarov found himself in a difficult situation during a medical examination. After training in a centrifuge, the pilot's cardiogram showed poor results. And the heart is a much more important organ for the astronaut than a broken leg. There was a problem, the solution of which was to go through the expulsion of the student.
Then the whole detachment, led by Yuri Gagarin, defended his friend, and a second medical examination was ordered. Then the doctor Adila Kotovskaya managed to find out the reason for such a poor result of the cardiogram. The thing is that a month before the centrifuge, glands were removed to Vladimir, and before training, the pilot hid this fact.
The second examination was positive for Komarov, and the doctors concluded: "With such a cardiogram, only fly into space."
The youth of Vladimir Komarov: biography
In Moscow school number 235 he studied from 1st to 10th grade Volodya. His father was a janitor and in his spare time with his son glued mock-ups of airplanes. This left an imprint on the choice of a future profession. After leaving school, the boy enters a flight school, after which he goes to serve in Chechnya.
At the place of service, Vladimir met his future wife, Valentina Kiseleva. For the first time, he saw her in a photograph exposed as a good shot in a photo studio. The girl at that time studied at the Pedagogical University, and in the evenings worked as a librarian. Vladimir loved to read, and frequent visits to the library, where Valentine was sweethearted, played a role. Despite the reluctance of Valentina's parents of their union, a year of courtship convinced them, and the wedding took place. In the marriage of Valentina and Vladimir Komarov, two children were born: son Eugene and daughter Irina.
Last anniversary
The first flight brought not only fame to Komarov, but also a gift from the state - a four-room apartment. After garrison housing, it was a spacious cloister with a balcony, a loggia and a large kitchen. The kids now had enough space to play hide and seek, without leaving home. Everyone was happy except Valentina. Something made the astronaut’s wife sad.
March 16, 1967 the apartment received guests on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of Vladimir. Viktor Kukeshev, giving an interview on the film about the memory of the hero, said that the fortieth anniversary was marked fruitfully. At a fun celebration, none of the guests could have thought that after 1.5 months they would see a photo of Vladimir Komarov with a black ribbon below.
Launch of Soyuz-1
After sending Soyuz-1 aboard Komarov, KVN viewers learned that now in space now, on April 23, 1967, there are Soviet astronauts. After all, a poster with this information was placed on the humorous scene of the country. The audience applauded while standing. And on April 24, no reports and reports from outer space were heard. Valentine was waiting for her hero. An alarm for his wife was the sudden disconnection of the home telephone. Although she knew that military pilots always had a telephone in working order. But the black Volga that approached the Komarovs' entrance finally killed hope in Valentine to see her beloved. The colonel general, who arrived to inform the cosmonaut's family about the tragedy, did not even have to give opening speeches. Valentine only asked him about the reality of the information.
April 26, 1967 the funeral of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was immortalized in the Kremlin wall. There is now an urn with its ashes.
Reasons for a failed flight
The flight of the Soyuz-1 ship was postponed all the time, because every time there were malfunctions that needed to be eliminated. But designers were rushed by senior leaders to launch the ship faster and timed the achievement to the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. Moreover, by that time, the second superpower - the United States had made great strides in space exploration.
Safety precautions required the launch of unmanned aerial vehicles. Soyuz-1 failed all three unmanned tests, however, it was sent into space with Komarov on board. After putting the ship into orbit, trouble started: one solar battery did not open, and this is a lack of energy and, as a result, a refusal to automatically control. Vladimir started the engine for braking, began to prepare the device for landing. Everyone at the control center sighed, but it was reported that Vladimir Komarov had died near Orsk. Photos of charred remains circled the whole world now, but then there were too many guilty of death, and a heroic act with a fatal outcome was not covered in any newspaper. The cause of death was declared twisted slings of the parachute, because of which the ship began a rapid fall. Then the commission found about 200 shortcomings of Soyuz-1. They were eliminated over time, and to this day the ship flies without excesses.