Biography of Vladimir Komarov and interesting facts from life

The Baikonur cosmodrome at 3 am on April 23, 1967, took two famous conquerors of space: Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov. On this fateful night, Yuri as a test doubler, and first of all as a friend escorted his comrade on a flight on the Soyuz-1 spacecraft. Remained 35 minutes before the operation, and the elevator drove the astronauts to the top of the rocket to the ship. Gagarin stayed with Vladimir Komarov until the closure of the hatches and was the last who wished him luck ... and said goodbye to him.

Secret offer

In 1959, as a military pilot, Vladimir Mikhailovich called the leadership in the office, where he met two representative people. One of them was a military doctor, and the second - a colonel of the Air Force. The young specialist was offered a secret job and said 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 response was immediate and positive.

This year there was a selection of test cosmonauts, the main requirements were: growth of 1.7 meters, weight to 70 kg and age to 30 years. At that time, Vladimir was 32 years old, but his theoretical knowledge was necessary for the command, and he was in a detachment of 20 elected for secret trials.

The pilots had to run daily, train in a heat chamber, centrifuge and jump with a parachute. Only after 3 months it became clear that the guys are being prepared for shipment to space.

First flight

Of the recruits planned to select only one space traveler, but after the first flight of Yuri Gagarin, who was also selected in the top twenty, it was clear that one person will not limit the operation of space exploration.

And on October 12, 1964, the world's first multi-seat ship, Voskhod, sets off into space. The crew of three people is planned: a pilot, a doctor and an engineer. Vladimir Komarov is appointed commander of the crew. Also, the decision is made by the main command to send people without spacesuits, since there are not enough places for three in Voskhod.

The ship was launched at 7.30 am, after which Komarov handed over the traditional report to N. Khrushchev, and then informed the second call to the Kremlin about the progress of Leonid Brezhnev and D. Ustinov. However, the party leaders were not there. And this is no accident, because at that moment the "Little October Revolution" was being prepared, the aim of which was to overthrow the current government.

To whom to report?

Since the first flight of Gagarin, a tradition has developed, according to which the Secretary-General met the cosmonauts on Red Square to solemnly report the latest about the operation.

After the landing of Voskhod on board with Vladimir Komarov, N. Khrushchev was already removed from power, it is not known who to read the prepared report. While the General Secretary's seat remained without a ruler, the crew of the cosmonauts was not let out from Baikonur. For five days the specialists stayed behind closed doors, as they flew away under NS Khrushchev, and returned, as it later becomes known, under Leonid Brezhnev.

When the crew was given permission to come to Moscow, Vladimir at the time of the flight begins to rewrite the report and the texts of the reports with the replacement of the official appeal. Of these, now disappear the phrase: "Dear Nikita Sergeevich!"

The flight on Voskhod completely changes the life of the military pilot: henceforth cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov - Hero of the Soviet Union.

Help an opponent

In the mid-1960s, there were two space detachments: military and civilian specialists. There was dislike between the groups. According to Georgy Grechko, who was part of the civilian cosmonauts, during the physical training, the guys from the military detachment surrounded the rivals and found out why they had come to the space crew. After all, it is the business of civil engineers to build ships, and the guys from the military detachment are destined to fly to them. And it was all wrong, places in spacecraft were occupied by civilians.

In such an unspoken war, every member of the detachment was saturated with dislike for the rival, except for the benevolent Vladimir Komarov, who treated the military team. After the unfortunate landing of Georgy Grechko, during which his leg broke, a question arose about his expulsion. But Vladimir, being from the opposite unit, persuaded the management during the treatment of Grechko to allow him to read lectures to him in the cosmonaut training center and after complete recovery to return to training for a flight into space.

Health problems

Before the first flight in 1963 in a difficult situation during the medical examination was Vladimir Komarov. After training on a centrifuge, the cardiogram of the pilot showed poor results. And the heart is where the organ for the cosmonaut is more important than the broken leg. There was a problem, the solution of which was to pass 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 bad result of the cardiogram. The thing is that a month before the centrifuge, the glands were removed by Vladimir, and before the training the pilot concealed this fact.

The second examination was positive for Komarov, and the doctors concluded: "With such a cardiogram, only fly into space."

Early life of Vladimir Komarov: biography

In the Moscow school number 235 Volodia studied from the 1st to the 10th grade. His father was a janitor and at leisure with his son glued mock-ups of aircraft. This postponed the imprint on the choice of the future profession. After graduation, the boy enters the flight school, after which he is sent to serve in Chechnya.

In the place of service, Vladimir meets his future wife Valentina Kiseleva. For the first time, he saw her in a photograph, exhibited as a lucky shot in one photo salon. The girl at that time studied at the Pedagogical University, and in the evenings she worked as a librarian. Vladimir liked to read, and frequent visits to the library, where Valentine's sweetheart was present, played a role. Contrary to the reluctance of Valentina's parents, their union, the 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.

The last anniversary

The first flight brought not only the glory of Komarov, but also a gift from the state - a four-room apartment. After garrison housing it was a spacious abode with a balcony, a loggia and a large kitchen. The children now had enough room to play hide and seek without leaving home. Everyone was happy, except Valentina. Something was bothering the astronaut's wife.

March 16, 1967 the apartment hosted guests about the 40th 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. On a merry celebration, none of the guests could have thought that in 1.5 months they would see a photo of Vladimir Komarov with a black ribbon below.

Launch of Soyuz-1

After sending "Union-1" on board with Komarov, KVN viewers learned that in space now, on April 23, 1967, there are Soviet astronauts. After all, a poster with this information was put on the humorous scene of the country. The audience applauded standing up. And already on April 24, there were no reports or reports from outer space. Valentina was waiting for her hero. An alarming signal for his wife was the sudden disconnection of the home phone. Although she knew that the military pilots phone was always in working order. But the approaching black Volga to the entrance of the Komarovs finally killed the hope in Valentine to see his beloved. The Colonel-General, who came to inform the family of the cosmonaut about the tragedy, did not even have to speak opening speeches. Valentina only asked him about the validity of the information.

April 26, 1967 was the funeral of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was immortalized in the Kremlin wall. There and now there is an urn with his ashes.

Causes of unsuccessful flight

The flight of the Soyuz-1 spacecraft was postponed all the time, since every time there were malfunctions that needed to be eliminated. But the top leaders urged the designers to launch the ship faster and timed the achievement towards the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. Especially since by that time the second superpower - the United States has made great strides in the exploration of outer space.

On safety precautions, the launch of unmanned aerial vehicles was required. "Soyuz-1" all three unmanned tests failed, nevertheless on board with Komarov was sent into space. After the launch of the ship into orbit, troubles began: one solar cell was not opened, and this is a lack of energy and, as a consequence, a refusal to operate automatically. Vladimir started the engine for braking, began to prepare the device for landing. At the control center, everyone sighed, but it was reported that Vladimir Komarov had been killed near Orsk. The photo of the burned remains flew around the world now, but then there were too many perpetrators of death, and the heroic deed was not lit in any newspaper. The cause of the death was declared the twisted lines of the parachute, because of which the ship began a precipitous fall. Then the commission found about 200 defects of Soyuz-1. They eventually eliminated, and to this day the ship flies without excesses.