Illarionov Credit - Yves Dejardin Collection

Personal: Male. Born in Moscow, Moscow, Russia. Cancer. Soviet Air Force Graduated from Higher Air Force School, 1967 Soviet Air Force. Soviet Air Force, specialized in communications systems.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: Air Force Group 5 - 1970. Deceased Entered space service: 27 April 1970. Left space service: 30 October 1992. Served as CapCom during several Soyuz missions. He was also involved in the Buran program.

24 March 1970 - Only nine of 16 cosmonaut-finalists cleared by the KGB and Communist Party. Kamanin reports that only nine of 16 cosmonaut-candidates that completed the arduous selection process have been cleared by the KGB and Communist Party for actual acceptance for cosmonaut training. He feels this makes the whole time-consuming selection process a waste of time. The VVS is reluctant to submit officers as cosmonaut candidates, fearing that if they fail the vestibular table tests they will not only be rejected as cosmonauts, but be unable to return to flight duty with the Air Force. The result is a final selection of dullards, who are not intellectual, or literary, or sports enthusiasts, who are poor readers and not really interested in spaceflight or cosmonautics. The final decree has been issued reorganising TsUKOS as GUKOS.