The killed cosmonauts of the USSR: names, biographies

The history of astronautics, unfortunately, is full of not only dizzying ups, but also terrible falls. Dead astronauts, not rocketed or exploded rockets, tragic accidents - all this is also our property, and to forget about this means to erase from history all those who consciously risked their lives for progress, science and a better future. It's about the fallen heroes of Soviet cosmonautics that we'll talk about in this article.

Astronautics in the USSR

Until the 20th century, flying into space seemed something completely fantastic. But already in 1903 K. Tsiolkovsky put forward the idea of flying into space on a rocket. From that moment, astronautics is born in the form in which we know it today.

In the USSR in 1933 the Reactive Institute (RNII) was founded to study the jet movement. And in 1946 the work related to rocketry began.

Nevertheless, before man first overcame the attraction of the Earth and found himself in space, it took years and years. Do not forget about the mistakes that cost the life of the testers. First of all, these are the dead cosmonauts of the USSR. According to official data, there are only five of them, including Yuri Gagarin, who, strictly speaking, died not in space, but after returning to Earth. Nevertheless, the astronaut also died in the course of tests, being a military pilot, which allows us to include him in the list presented here.

Komarov

Soviet cosmonauts, who died in space, made an incomparable contribution to the development of their country. Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov, a cosmonaut pilot and engineer-colonel, was awarded with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was born in Moscow on April 14, 1927. He was part of the first crew of the spacecraft in world history and was his commander. Twice I visited space.

In 1943, the future cosmonaut graduated from the seven-year school, and then entered the special school of the Air Force, wishing to master the profession of the pilot. He graduated in 1945, and then went to the cadets of the Sasovo Aviation School. And in the same year he was enrolled in Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School.

After graduating in 1949, Komarov entered the military service in the Air Force, becoming a fighter pilot. His division was located in Grozny. Here he met Valentina, a schoolteacher who became his wife. Soon Vladimir Mikhailovich became a senior pilot, and in 1959 he graduated from the Air Force Academy and received a distribution in the Air Force Research Institute. It was here that he was selected for the first cosmonaut detachment.

Flying into space

To answer the question of how many astronauts died, we must first illuminate the topic of flights.

So, the first flight of Komarov into space took place on the space ship "Voskhod" on October 12, 1964. This was the world's first multi-seat expedition: the crew included a doctor and an engineer. The flight lasted 24 hours and ended with a successful landing.

The second and last flight of Komarov took place on the night of April 23-24, 1967. The astronaut died at the time of the completion of the flight: during the descent the main parachute did not work, and the lines of the reserve were twisted due to a strong rotation of the apparatus. The ship collided with the ground and caught fire. So because of the fatal accident, Vladimir Komarov died. He is the first cosmonaut of the USSR who was killed. In his honor a monument was erected in Nizhny Novgorod and a bronze bust in Moscow.

Gagarin

It was all the dead cosmonauts before Gagarin, according to official sources. That is, in fact, only one astronaut perished before Gagarin in the USSR. However, Gagarin is the most famous Soviet cosmonaut.

Yuri Alekseevich, a Soviet pilot-cosmonaut, was born on March 9, 1934. His childhood was spent in the village of Kashino. He went to school in 1941, but German troops invaded the village, and the study was interrupted. And in the house of the Gagarins' family, the SS men arranged a workshop, driving the owners out into the street. Only in 1943 the village was liberated, and Yuri's studies continued.

Then Gagarin entered the Saratov Technical School in 1951, where he began attending an aeroclub. In 1955, he was drafted into the army and sent to the aviation school. After graduation, he served in the Air Force and by 1959 flew about 265 hours. He received the title of military pilot of the third class and the rank of senior lieutenant.

The first flight and death

The dead astronauts - people who were well aware of the risk they are taking, but nevertheless it did not stop them. So Gagarin, the first person to have been in space, risked his life before he became an astronaut.

However, he did not miss his chance to become the first. April 12, 1961 Gagarin made a flight on the rocket "Vostok" into space from the airfield Baikonur. The flight lasted 108 minutes and ended with a successful landing near the town of Engels (Saratov region). And it was this day that became for the whole country the Day of Astronautics, which is celebrated today.

For the whole world, the first flight was an incredible event, and the pilot who committed it quickly became famous. Gagarin visited by invitation more than thirty countries. The following years after the flight were marked for the cosmonaut by active social and political activity.

But soon Gagarin again returned to the helm of the plane. This decision was tragic for him. And in 1968, on March 27, he died during a training flight in the MIG-15 cabin of the UTI. The causes of the disaster are still unknown.

Nevertheless, the lost astronauts will never be forgotten by their country. On the day of Gagarin's death, mourning was declared in the country. Later, in a number of countries, a number of monuments were erected to the first cosmonaut.

Volkov

Vladislav Nikolaevich Volkov is a Soviet cosmonaut. He was born in Moscow in 1935, on November 23.

The future cosmonaut graduated from Moscow school No. 201 in 1953, after which he entered the MAI and received a specialty of an engineer-electromechanic engaged in rockets. Comes to work in the KB Queen and helps in the creation of space technology. At the same time, he begins to attend courses of pilot-athletes in the Kolomenskoye flying club.

In 1966, Volkov became a member of the cosmonaut detachment, and three years later made his first flight on the Soyuz-7 as a flight engineer. The flight lasted 4 days, 22 hours and 40 minutes. In 1971, there was the second and last flight of Volkov, in which he acted as an engineer. In addition to Vladislav Nikolayevich, the squad included Patsayev and Dobrovolsky, which we will discuss below. When landing the ship, there was a depressurization, and all the participants in the flight died. The dead cosmonauts of the USSR were cremated, and their ashes were placed in the Kremlin wall.

Dobrovolsky

Georgii Timofeevich Dobrovolsky, whom we mentioned above, was born in Odessa in 1928, on June 1. Pilot, cosmonaut and air force colonel, posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

During the war, he was in the territory occupied by the Romanian authorities and was arrested for possession of weapons. For the crime he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but the local residents managed to redeem him. And after the Great Patriotic War, Georgy Dobrovolsky goes to the Odessa Air Force School. At that moment, he did not yet know what fate was for him. However, cosmonauts who died in space, like the pilots, are preparing for death in advance.

In 1948, Dobrovolsky became a student in a military school in Chuguevsk, and two years later began to serve in the Air Force of the USSR. During the service he managed to graduate from the Academy of Air Force. And in 1963 he became a member of the cosmonaut detachment.

His first and last flight began on June 6, 1971 on the ship Soyuz-11 as commander. The astronauts visited the space station "Solyut-1", where they conducted several scientific studies. But at the time of returning to Earth, there was, as mentioned above, depressurization.

Marital status and rewards

The dead cosmonauts are not only the heroes of their country, who gave their lives for it, but also their sons, husbands and fathers. After the death of George Dobrovolsky, his two daughters Marina (born in 1960) and Natalia (born in 1967) were orphaned. One remained the widow of the hero, Lyudmila Stebleva, a teacher of high school. And if the eldest daughter managed to remember her father, the younger one, who was only 4 years old at the time of the crash of the capsule, does not know him at all.

In addition to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, Dobrovolsky was awarded the Order of Lenin (posthumously), the Golden Star, and the Medal for Military Merit. In addition, the name of the cosmonaut was named planet No. 1789, discovered in 1977, a lunar crater and a research ship.

Also to this day, since 1972, there is a tradition to play the Dobrovolsky Cup, which is awarded for the best jump on the trampoline.

Patsayev

So, continuing to answer the question of how many astronauts died in space, we move on to the next Hero of the Secular Union. Victor Ivanovich Patsayev was born in Aktyubinsk (Kazakhstan) in 1933, on June 19. This man is known for being the first cosmonaut in the world to work outside the Earth's atmosphere. Died together with Dobrovolsky and Volkov, mentioned above.

Father Victor fell on the battlefield during the Second World War. And after the war the family was forced to move to the Kaliningrad region, where the future cosmonaut first went to school. As his sister wrote in the memoirs, the space began to interest Viktor even then - he got the "Journey to the Moon" by K. Tsiolkovsky.

In 1950, Patsayev entered the Penza Industrial Institute, which ends, and is sent to the Central Aerological Observatory. Here he takes part in the construction of meteorological rockets.

And in 1958 Viktor Ivanovich transferred to the KB Queen, in the design department. It was here that the dead Soviet cosmonauts met (Volkov, Dobrovolsky and Patsayev). However, only in 10 years a detachment of cosmonauts will be formed, in whose ranks is Patsayev. His training will last three years. Unfortunately, the first flight of the cosmonaut will end with the tragedy and death of the entire crew.

How many astronauts died in space?

This question can not be given an unambiguous answer. The fact is that some of the information on space flights remains classified to this day. There are many assumptions and conjectures, but no one has concrete proofs.

As for the official data, the number of dead astronauts and astronauts of all countries is about 170 people. The best known of them, of course, are representatives of the Soviet Union and the United States. Among the latter are named Francis Richard, Michael Smith, Judith Reznik (one of the first female astronauts), Ronald McNair.

Other victims

If you are interested in the lost cosmonauts of Russia, at the moment they do not exist. Not once since the collapse of the USSR and the formation of Russia as a separate state was not declared a single case of the crash of a spacecraft and the death of its crew.

Throughout the article, we talked about those who died directly in space, but we can not ignore those astronauts who never managed to fly. Death has overtaken them on Earth.

This was Valentin Vasilievich Bondarenko, who was a member of the group of the first cosmonauts and died during training. During his stay in the ship's chamber, where the cosmonaut was supposed to be alone for about 10 days, he made a mistake. He unfastened the sensors, reporting on vital functions, from the body and wiped them with cotton wool soaked in alcohol, and then threw it away. The cotton swab got into a spiral of heated electric stove, which caused a fire. When the camera was opened, the astronaut was still alive, but after 8 hours he died in the Botkin Hospital. The dead cosmonauts before Gagarin, thus, include in their composition one more person.

Nevertheless, Bondarenko will remain in the memory of the descendants along with other deceased astronauts.