Vladimir Komarov - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov was a Soviet test pilot, aerospace engineer and cosmonaut in the first group of cosmonauts selected in 1960. He was one of the most highly experienced and well-qualified candidates accepted into "Air Force Group One".

Komarov was declared medically unfit for training or spaceflight twice while he was in the program, but his perseverance and superior skills and his knowledge as an engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

allowed him to continue playing an active role. During his time at the Tsentr Podgotovki Kosmonavtov (cosmonaut training centre), he contributed to space vehicle design, cosmonaut training and evaluation and public relations. He was eventually selected to command the first Soviet multiman Voskhod 1
Voskhod 1
Voskhod 1 was the seventh manned Soviet space flight. It achieved a number of "firsts" in the history of manned spaceflight, being the first space flight to carry more than one crewman into orbit, the first flight without the use of spacesuits, and the first to carry either an engineer or a...

spaceflight

Spaceflight

Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...

that presented a number of technical innovations in the Space Race

Space Race

The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...

. Komarov was later chosen for the rigorous task of commanding Soyuz 1
Soyuz 1
Soyuz 1 was a manned spaceflight of the Soviet space program. Launched into orbit on April 23, 1967 carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 1 was the first flight of the Soyuz spacecraft...

as part of the Soviet Union's bid to reach the Moon first.

His spaceflight on Soyuz 1 made him the first cosmonaut to fly into outer space more than once, and he became the first human to die during a spaceflight—when the Soyuz 1 space capsule crashed after re-entry on April 24, 1967.

Early life

Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov was born in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

on March 16, 1927, where he grew up along with his sister Matilde. His father was a laborer who worked at various low-paid jobs to support the family. In 1935, Komarov began his formal education in the local elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

. Here he showed a natural aptitude for mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

. In 1941, Komarov left school because of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and the Nazi German invasion of the U.S.S.R., and he became a laborer on a collective farm. He showed an interest in aeronautics

Aeronautics

Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...

from an early age, and he collected magazines and pictures about aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

, in addition to making model aircraft

Model aircraft

Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft using a variety of materials including plastic, diecast metal, polystyrene, balsa wood, foam and fibreglass...

and his own propeller

Propeller

A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...

. At the age of fifteen in 1942, Komarov entered the "1st Moscow Special Air Force

Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...

School" to pursue his dream of becoming an aviator

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

. Shortly thereafter, his family learned that Komarov's father had been killed in an "unknown war action." Of necessity because of the German invasion, the flight school was soon moved to the Tyumen Region in Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

for the duration of the war. Students there learned a wide variety of subjects besides aviation -- including zoology

Zoology

Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

and foreign languages. In 1945, Komarov graduated from flight school with honors. Hostilities ended in World War II before Komarov was called on to enter combat.

In 1946, Komarov completed his first year of training at the Chkalov Higher Air Force School in Borisoglebsk in Voronezh Region. He then completed his training at the A.K. Serov Military Aviation College in Bataisk. Komarov's mother died in 1948, seven months before his graduation (in 1949) at which he received his pilots wings and commission as a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

in the Soviet Air Force

Soviet Air Force

The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...

Career in the Soviet Air Force

In December 1949, Komarov served as the pilot of a fighter plane with the 383rd Regiment of the 42nd North Caucasian

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

Fighter Air Division that was based in Grozny.

Komarov married Valentina Yakovlevna Kiselyova in October 1950. He was promoted to senior lieutenant in 1952, and he was later assigned as the chief pilot of the 486th Regiment of the 279th Fighter Air Division in the Prikarpate Region. Komarov continued to fly in that position until 1954, and then he enrolled in an engineering course at the N.E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy

Soviet military academies

There were/are a number of military academies in the Soviet Union/Russia of different specialties.Unlike Western military academies such as West Point, Soviet, now Russian, military and police institutions referred to as "academy" are post-graduate professional military schools for experienced...

. In 1959, Komarov was promoted to the rank of senior engineer-lieutenant. Later that year he achieved his goal of becoming a test pilot

Test pilot

A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....

at the Central Scientific Research Institute at Chkalovsky.

Air Force Group One

In September 1959, Komarov was promoted to engineer-captain and invited to participate in the selection process for cosmonaut candidate along with approximately 3,000 other pilots. He was one of only 20 candidates selected for "Air Force Group One", he and reported to the newly formed TsPK just outside Moscow

Moscow

for assignment on March 13, 1960.

Although eminently qualified, Komarov was not chosen in the top six candidates, because he did not meet the age, height and weight restrictions specified by the "Chief Designer" of Russia's space program: Sergei Korolev. "If the criteria had been different," the cosmonaut trainer Mark Gallai noted in an interview, "certainly Komarov, who was very intelligent, would have been in the group. He had Air Force Academy flight experience. He had a great influence on the design of the Vostok and and [the] Voskhod."
At age 32, Komarov was the second-oldest of the pilots chosen, whereas Sergi Korolev had specified a maximum age of just 27. Of the first intake, only two members, Pavel Belyayev

Pavel Belyayev

Pavel Ivanovich Belyayev , , was a Soviet fighter pilot with extensive experience in piloting different types of aircraft...

(of Voskhod 2
Voskhod 2
Voskhod 2 was a Soviet manned space mission in March 1965. Vostok-based Voskhod 3KD spacecraft with two crew members on board, Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov, was equipped with an inflatable airlock...

) and Komarov, were also graduates of the Soviet Air Force Academy

Soviet military academies

. Also, just Komarov had experience as a fight test engineer on new aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

Training

Shortly after beginning his training Komarov was hospitalised for a minor operation in May 1960, which left him medically unfit for physical training for approximately 6 months. At the time, the selection criteria placed a heavy emphasis on the physical condition of cosmonauts and any imperfection led to instant disqualification. Since Komarov already held engineering qualifications, he was allowed to remain a part of the program after assuring the administration he would be able to catch up. He continued with the required academic studies while recovering.
He returned to training in October, because his recovery was more rapid than medical staff had expected. During that time he assisted his younger peers with their academic studies; earning him the casual nickname of "The Professor" which he shared with Belayev who was 2 years his senior. In 1961 the first space flights began. By 1962, Komarov was the third highest paid cosmonaut, due to his qualifications, rank and experience. He earned 528 rubles a year, with only cosmonauts 1 and 2 Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....

and Gherman Titov

Gherman Titov

Gherman Stepanovich Titov was a Soviet cosmonaut who, on August 6, 1961, became the second human to orbit the Earth aboard Vostok 2, preceded by Yuri Gagarin on Vostok 1...

being more highly paid.

When Georgi Shonin

Georgi Shonin

Georgy Stepanovich Shonin was a Soviet cosmonaut, who flew on the Soyuz 6 space mission....

demonstrated an unacceptable level of g-Force susceptibility in the centrifuge he was replaced by Komarov in May 1962 for planned dual Vostok missions.
Komarov was selected as back up for Pavel Popovich

Pavel Popovich

- Biography :He was born in Uzyn, Kiev Oblast of Soviet Union . to Roman Porfirievich Popovich and Theodosia Kasyanovna Semyonov. He had two sisters and two brothers ....

(Vostok 4

Vostok 4

Vostok 4 was a mission in the Soviet space program. It was launched a day after Vostok 3 with cosmonaut Pavel Popovich on board—the first time that more than one manned spacecraft were in orbit at the same time. The two Vostok capsules came within of one another and ship-to-ship radio contact was...

), but subsequent routine ECG testing of Komarov revealed a heart irregularity and he was pulled from the program and replaced by Boris Volynov

Boris Volynov

Boris Valentinovich Volynov is a Soviet cosmonaut who flew two space missions of the Soyuz programme: Soyuz 5, and Soyuz 21. He was the first Jewish cosmonaut.-Biography:...

The same heart irregularity grounded American Astronaut Deke Slayton

Deke Slayton

Donald Kent Slayton , better known as Deke Slayton, was an American World War II pilot and later, one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts....

. After Komarov persistently lobbied medical and military personnel to be readmitted into the program he was allowed to return to training.

In 1963, cosmonaut training was conducted in 6 Groups, with Komarov being selected in Group 2 with Valery Bykovsky and Volynov. This group was to train for missions of up to five days in duration scheduled for the latter part of 1963. In May 1963 Alekseyev proposed to Kamanin that Komarov be named backup for Vostok 5

Vostok 5

-Backup crew:-Reserve crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass *Apogee: *Perigee: *Inclination: 64.9°*Period: 88.4 minutes...

rather than Khrunov

Yevgeny Khrunov

Yevgeni Vassilyevich Khrunov was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 5/Soyuz 4 mission.He was born in Prudy.Yevgeni Khrunov was a colonel, Hero of the Soviet Union and Kandidat of Technical Sciences ....

because his suit was ready. Komarov was later named in a further group for planned missions in 1964 with Belyaev, Shonin, Khrunov

Yevgeny Khrunov

, Zaikin, Gorbatko

Viktor Gorbatko

Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7, Soyuz 24, and Soyuz 37 missions.After leaving the space program in 1982 he taught at the Air Force Engineering Academy in Moscow.-References:...

, Volynov, and Leonov. The training groups were formed for later Vostok missions, (Vostok 7-13) but no actual crews were assigned and the missions did not occur under the auspices of the original Vostok program. In December 1963, Komarov was shortlisted for flight by Kamanin with Volynov and Leonov, having completed 2 years of training.

In April 1964 Komarov was declared space-flight ready with Bykovsky, Popovich, Titov, Volynov, Leonov, Khrunov, Belyayev, and Lev Demin. From this group the commander of the planned Voskhod mission scheduled for late 1964 would be chosen. In May the group was reduced to Volynov, Komarov, Leonov, Khrunov.

During training, Komarov lived at the TsPK (which would later be nicknamed Star City by the Soviet press) with his wife Valentina and their two children Yevgeny and Irina. There he enjoyed hunting, cross country skiing, ice hockey and other social activities with his fellow trainees in their leisure time. Komarov was well liked by his peers and was referred to by them as Volodya (a diminutive of his first name). Pavel Popovich noted that Komarov was respected for his humility and experience: "…he was already an engineer when he joined us, but he never looked down on the others. He was warm-hearted, purposeful and industrious. Volodya's prestige was so high that people came to him to discuss all questions: personal as well as questions of our work."
Fellow cosmonaut Alexei Leonov described him as "…very serious. He was a first-class test pilot."

Voskhod 1

By July 1964, only seven cosmonauts remained eligible for the Voskhod crew after some of them had been disqualified on medical grounds. On July 6, Komarov was named as the commander of the back-up crew for Voskhod 1. After much heated debate over several months about the selection of the crew between Nikolai Kamanin

Nikolai Kamanin

Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin was a Soviet aviator, awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1934 for the rescue of SS Chelyuskin crew from an improvised airfield on the frozen surface of the Chukchi Sea near Kolyuchin Island.In World War II he successfully commanded air brigade, air division...

and Sergei Korolev, Komarov was named as prime crew commander on October 4, 1964, by the State Commission; just eight days before its scheduled launch. Kamanin played tennis with the Voskhod crew that evening and noted that Komarov played poorly in comparison to his crew: Boris Yegorov

Boris Yegorov

Boris Borisovich Yegorov was a Soviet physician-cosmonaut and he became the first physician to make a space flight.Yegorov came from a medical background, with his father a prominent heart surgeon, and his mother an ophthalmologist. He also selected medicine as a career and graduated from the...

and Konstantin Feoktistov

Konstantin Feoktistov

Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov was a Soviet cosmonaut and an eminent space engineer. Feoktistov also wrote several books on space technology and exploration...

.

On October 9, Komarov and the crew inspected the Voskhod with Korolev and other members of the administration. Later that day they were interviewed by the state press and played tennis for the benefit of photographers.

On the morning of October 11, Komarov was given various communist relics to take with him into space the following day. In the afternoon the crew again inspected the capsule and were given their final instructions by Korolev. Komarov was the only member of the crew to have undertaken extensive training and was the only member with any flight experience; the two other crewmen being civilians. His call sign was "Ruby" (Russian: Рубин).

During the mission Komarov performed various tasks with the other crew members, including medical and navigational tests and observing the Aurora Borealis

Aurora (astronomy)

An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...

. He also made a number of radio transmissions, including a greeting to the Tokyo Olympics

1964 Summer Olympics

The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...

which had opened on October 10. Some of the transmissions Komarov made were recorded by amateur radio operators like Sven Grahn. The mission lasted just over 24 hours. After the crew landed safely they were flown back to the launch site at Tyuratam

Tyuratam

Tyuratam is a station on the main Moscow to Tashkent railway, located in Kazakhstan. The name is a word in the Kazakh language and means "Töre's grave"; Töre, or more formally, Töre-Baba, was a noble, a descendant of Genghis Khan...

(also known as Baikonur

Baikonur

Baikonur , formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Kyzylorda Province of Kazakhstan, rented and administered by the Russian Federation. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995.The shape of the...

to disguise its true location). Kamanin noted in his diary that while his crew were in good spirits, Komarov was fatigued. On October 19, Komarov and his crew made reports in Red Square and attended an audience at the Kremlin. After the success of this short but scientifically important mission he was promoted to colonel. The success of the mission earned Komarov the awards of the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...

and Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...

.

In December 1964, the RSVN (Strategic Rocket Forces

Strategic Rocket Forces

The Strategic Missile Troops or Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or RVSN RF , transliteration: Raketnye voyska strategicheskogo naznacheniya Rossiyskoy Federatsii, literally Missile Troops of Strategic Designation of the Russian Federation) are a military branch of the Russian...

) requested that Komarov be transferred to the RSVN from the VVS (Soviet Air Force

Soviet Air Force

), in a move possibly motivated by the poor record of the RSVN in producing successful rockets compared to the VVS. The request was opposed by Kamanin.

In 1965, Komarov worked with Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....

in supervising preparations for the flight of Voskhod 2
Voskhod 2
Voskhod 2 was a Soviet manned space mission in March 1965. Vostok-based Voskhod 3KD spacecraft with two crew members on board, Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov, was equipped with an inflatable airlock...

, which carried out the first attempt of an Extravehicular activity in outer space

Outer space

Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....

. These preparations included fitting of space suit

Space suit

A space suit is a garment worn to keep an astronaut alive in the harsh environment of outer space. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extra-vehicular activity , work done outside spacecraft...

s on the cosmonauts and briefings for the spaceflight. In April of that year, Komarov toured St. Petersburg, Russia, with Kamanin, Gagarin, Gherman Titov

Gherman Titov

Gherman Stepanovich Titov was a Soviet cosmonaut who, on August 6, 1961, became the second human to orbit the Earth aboard Vostok 2, preceded by Yuri Gagarin on Vostok 1...

, Belyayev, and Leonov, and Komarov visited Petropavlovsk Fortress with Valentin Glushko

Valentin Glushko

Valentin Petrovich Glushko or Valentyn Petrovych Hlushko was a Soviet engineer, and the principal Soviet designer of rocket engines during the Soviet/American Space Race.-Biography:...

where he had conducted the first rocket experiments in the early 1930s. In September that year, Komarov toured West Germany.

Soyuz 1

Komarov was assigned to the Soviet Soyuz
Soyuz programme
The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme that was initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon...

program along with Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....

and Alexei Leonov. In July 1966, Komarov was reprimanded by Kamanin for his unauthorised disclosure that "…the Soviet Union will, at the scheduled time, fly an automated spacecraft around the Moon and return it to (the) Earth, to be followed by a dog flight, then a manned circumlunar flight." whilst in Japan. The following month Komarov clashed with other engineer

Engineer

s over ongoing design problems in which zero-G tests showed that the Soyuz module hatch was too small to allow the exit of a fully suited cosmonaut safely.
Meanwhile Komarov and his fellow cosmonauts had their groups and assignments constantly revised and they became increasingly anxious about the lack of response to their concerns about the design and manufacture of space craft which had been raised in a letter to Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...

by Yuri Gagarin on their behalf.

Komarov was selected to command the Soyuz 1
Soyuz 1
Soyuz 1 was a manned spaceflight of the Soviet space program. Launched into orbit on April 23, 1967 carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 1 was the first flight of the Soyuz spacecraft...

, in 1967, with Yuri Gagarin as his backup cosmonaut. During the preparations for the spaceflight

Spaceflight

, both cosmonauts were working 12-to-14 hour days to prepare for it. One source reports that before boarding the spacecraft, Komarov feared for his life, but he flew anyway in order to spare Gagarin the same fate. On orbital insertion, the solar panels of the Soyuz module failed to fully deploy, thereby preventing the craft from being fully powered and obscuring some of the navigation equipment. Komarov reported: "Conditions are poor. The cabin parameters are normal, but the left solar panel didn't deploy. The electrical bus is at only 13 to 14 ampere

Ampere

The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...

s. The HF (high frequency) communications are not working. I cannot orient the spacecraft to the sun. I tried orienting the spacecraft manually using the DO-1 orientation engines, but the pressure remaining on the DO-1 has gone down to 180."
Komarov tried unsuccessfully to orient the Soyuz module for five hours. The craft was transmitting unreliable status information and communications were lost on orbits 13 through 15 due to the failure of the high frequency transmitter which would have maintained radio contact whilst the craft was out of range of the ultra-high frequency (UHF) receivers on the ground.

As a result of the problems with the craft, the second Soyuz module which was to have carried cosmonauts to perform an extra-vehicular activity

Extra-vehicular activity

Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...

(EVA) to the Soyuz 1 was not launched and the mission was cut short.

Komarov was ordered to re-orient the craft using the ion system on orbits 15 through 17. The ion engine system failed. Komarov did not have enough time to attempt a manual re-entry until orbit 19. Manual orientation relied on using the equipped Vzor device, but in order to do this, Komarov needed to be able to see the sun. To reach the designated landing site at Orsk the retro-fire would need to take place on the night side of the earth. Komarov oriented the spacecraft manually on the dayside then used the gyro-platform as a reference so that he could orient the craft for a night side retro-fire. He successfully re-entered the earth's atmosphere on his 19th orbit, but the module's drogue and main braking parachute

Parachute

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

failed to deploy correctly and the module crashed into the ground, killing Komarov.

In Leo De Boer's documentary The Red Stuff (2000), Alexei Leonov noted the profound effect that Komarov's death had on the morale of the Cosmonaut corps: "He was our friend. Before his death the press and public had paid little attention to the extreme risks we took."

Posthumous honours

On April 26, 1967, Komarov was given a state funeral in Moscow

Moscow

, and his ashes were interred in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis

Kremlin Wall Necropolis

Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik victims of the October Revolution were buried in mass graves on Red Square. It is centered on both sides of Lenin's Mausoleum, initially built in wood in 1924 and rebuilt in granite in 1929–1930...

at Red Square

Red Square

Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...

.

Komarov was posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin, once more, and also the order of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On April 25, 1968, a memorial service was held for Komarov at the crash site near Omsk

Omsk

-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...

. Kamanin noted in his diary that over 10,000 people were present at this service, "some driving hundreds of kilometres for the event".

Komarov has been featured on commemorative First Day Cover

First day of issue

A First Day of Issue Cover or First Day Cover is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for use within the country or territory of the stamp-issuing authority. Sometimes the issue is made from a temporary or permanent foreign or...

s and stamps for his contribution to the space program -- from several different countries.

Komarov is commemorated with other prominent figures from the early Russian space program with a bust on Cosmonauts Alley in Moscow, and he is also honored with a monument at the crash site near Orsk

Orsk

Orsk is the second largest city in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the steppe about southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains. The city straddles the Ural River. Since this river is considered a boundary between Europe and Asia, Orsk can be said to lie in two continents. It is...

.

Before leaving the Moon on Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...

, Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong

Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....

's final task was to place a small package of memorial items to honor Komarov, Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....

, and the Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White

Edward White

Edward White may refer to:*Edward John White , Anglo-Australian meteorologist and astronomer*Edward Douglass White , Chief Justice of the U.S.*Edward Douglass White, Sr. , Governor of Louisiana and U.S...

, and Roger Chaffee. Komarov's name also appears on a plaque left at Hadley Rille on the Moon by the commander of Apollo 15

Apollo 15

Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...

, David Scott

David Scott

David Randolph Scott is an American engineer, test pilot, retired U.S. Air Force officer, and former NASA astronaut and engineer, who was one of the third group of astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963...

, along with a small sculpture representing the "Fallen Astronaut

Fallen Astronaut

Fallen Astronaut is an 8.5 cm aluminium sculpture of an astronaut in a spacesuit which commemorates astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the advancement of space exploration...

" on August 1, 1971. This plaque and the sculpture represent those astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the quest to reach outer space

Outer space

and the Moon.

Response to Komarov's death

On April 25, a response to Komarov's death by his fellow cosmonauts was published in Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....

:
"For the forerunners it is always more difficult. They tread the unknown paths and these paths are not straight, they have sharp turns, surprises and dangers. But anyone who takes the pathway into orbit never wants to leave it. And no matter what difficulties or obstacles there are, they are never strong enough to deflect such a man from his chosen path. While his heart beats in his chest, a cosmonaut will always continue to challenge the universe. Vladimir Komarov was one of the first on this treacherous path."

When interviewed on May 17 by the newspaper Komosmolskaya Pravda, Yuri Gagarin alluded to the failure of the administration to listen to the concerns about the Soyuz module that were identified by the cosmonaut corps and that Komarov's death should teach the establishment to be more rigorous in its testing and evaluation of "all the mechanisms of the spaceship, even more attentive to all stages of checking and testing, even more vigilant in our encounter with the unknown. He has shown us how dangerous the pathway to space is. His flight and his death will teach us courage."
In May 1967, Gagarin and Leonov criticised Mishin's

Vasily Mishin

Vasily Pavlovich Mishin was a Soviet engineer and a prominent rocketry pioneer....

"poor knowledge of the Soyuz spacecraft and the details of its operation, his lack of cooperation in working with the cosmonauts in flight and training activities" and asked Kamanin for him to be cited in the official report into the crash.

Legacy

After Komarov's death, the communications system

Communications system

In telecommunication, a communications system is a collection of individual communications networks, transmission systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and data terminal equipment usually capable of interconnection and interoperation to form an integrated whole...

s on-board all Soviet spacecraft

Spacecraft

A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....

were modified -- because Komarov's voice transmissions from Soyuz 1 had blocked its telemetry

Telemetry

Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure...

signals.

The asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

1836 Komarov

1836 Komarov is a main belt asteroid discovered on July 26, 1971 by N. Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, USSR. It is named after the cosmonaut Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov.- External links :*...

, discovered in 1971, was named in the honor of Komarov, as was a crater on the Moon

Komarov (crater)

Komarov is a lunar crater that lies across the southeastern edge of Mare Moscoviense, on the northern hemisphere of the far side of the Moon. It is a complex feature with an irregular appearance....

.
This asteroid and the cosmonaut inspired the composer Brett Dean

Brett Dean

Brett Dean is a contemporary Australian composer, violist and conductor.-Career:Dean studied at the Queensland Conservatorium where he received a Medal of Excellence. From 1985 to 1999, Dean was a violist in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2000, he decided to pursue a career as a freelance...

to write a piece of symphonic music commissioned by conductor Simon Rattle

Simon Rattle

Sir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....

in 2006. The composition is named Komarov's Fall, and it can be found on the EMI Classics Album of Simon Rattle's The Planets
The Planets
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst...

.

Among other honors, the Vladimir M. Komarov Astronautical Rocketry Club (ARK) in Ljubljana

Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...

has also borne Komarov's name since 1969.

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...

's V.M. Komarov Diploma is named in Komarov's honor.

There was formerly a Soviet satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

-tracking ship named for Komarov, the Kosmonaut Vladimir Komarov
Kosmonaut Vladimir Komarov
Kosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was a satellite tracking ship of the Soviet Union.It was named after Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov, the cosmonaut who died on Soyuz 1.It was built as an ordinary cargo ship in 1966 and converted in Leningrad in 1967....

.

The Estonian band Sõpruse Puiestee (Friendship Boulevard)] wrote a song "Planeetidegi vahel kehtib raskus" ("Difficulty stands even between planets") in honor of Komarov. This recording was completed 43 years after Komarov's death, on April 24, 2010.

The French electro band named KOWALSKY wrote a song "Lost" (2008) in honor of Komarov, in which the listener can hear his last words.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Early life

Career in the Soviet Air Force

Air Force Group One

Training

Voskhod 1

Soyuz 1

Posthumous honours

Response to Komarov's death

Legacy

See also

External links