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Bykovsky, Valeri Fyodorovich

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Bykovsky Credit: www.spacefacts.de

Status: Inactive; Active 1960-1982. Born: 1934-08-02. Spaceflights: 3 . Total time in space: 20.74 days. Birth Place: Pavlovsky Posad, Moscow.

Biography

Valeri Fyodorovich Bykovsky was born on August 2, 1934 in the city of Pavlovsky Posad in the Moscow region. In 1951, he graduated from middle school and entered Kachinsk's Myasnikov High Aviation School. After graduation in 1955, he served with the Soviet Air Force.

In 1960 he was accepted into the Soviet cosmonaut unit (1960 Air Force Group # 1). He underwent the full general space preparation course and trained for space flight on Vostok type spacecraft. In August 1962 he was the reserve crew member for the Vostok-3 flight. He performed his first flight on August 14-16, 1963, as commander of the space ship Vostok-5 (call sign - Yastreb). His space flight lasted 4 days 23 hours and 6 minutes.

He next trained for the Soviet Lunar program. In April 1967 he was the commander of the reserve crew (together with Aleksey Stanislavovich Yeliseyev and Eugene Vasilyevich Khrunov) for the planned Soyuz-2 flight. Because of the problems with Soyuz-1, which culminated in it crashing and killing Vladimir Komarov, the launch of Soyuz-2 was cancelled.

Bykovsky made his second space flight on September 15-23, 1976, as commander of the space ship Soyuz-22 (call sign - Yastreb-1) together with Vladimir Viktorovich Aksyonov. Their stay in space was 7 days 21 hours 52 minutes and 17 seconds.

From 1977 Bykovsky underwent preparations under the Intercosmos program for co-operation with socialist countries. He made his third space flight from August 26 through September 3, 1978, as commander of the space ship Soyuz-31 (call sign - Yastreb-1) together with German Sigmund Jaehn. The cosmonauts worked onboard the orbital complex Salyut-6 - Soyuz-29 - Soyuz-30 together with Vladimir Vasilyevich Kovalenok and Alexsander Sergeyevich Ivanchenkov. Their stay in space was 7 days 20 hours 49 minutes and 4 seconds.

During his three flights Bykovsky spent 20 days 17 hours 47 minutes and 21 seconds in space. In July 1980 he was the commander of the reserve crew (together with the Vietnamese Byi Thai Liem) for the Soyuz-37 flight. In 1988 he left the cosmonaut team.

Bykovsky was Director of House of Soviet Science and Culture in Berlin from 1989 to 1991. He is currently retired.

Awards: Twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Hero of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Hero of the German Democratic Republic. Awarded three Orders of Lenin, Order of Red Star, Order of Karl Marx (GDR), Order Krest Grunvald (Poland), Order of Star (Indonesia), Tsiolkovskiy Gold Medal (USSR Academy of Sciences), Lavo Gold Medal (FAI). Honorary citizen of Kaluga, Rzev (Russia), Burgas, Varna (Bulgaria) and Seradz (Poland).

Copyright © Alexander Zheleznyakov, 1998.

Call sign: Yastreb (Hawk).

Photo Gallery

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Bykovsky Bykovsky aboard Vostok 5. Credit: RKK Energia

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• Birth of Valeri Fyodorovich Bykovsky - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky. Russian pilot cosmonaut 1960-1982. 3 spaceflights, 20.7 days in space. Flew to orbit on Vostok 5 (1963), Soyuz 22, Soyuz 31..

• Soviet Air Force Cosmonaut Training Group 1 selected. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anikeyev, Belyayev, Bondarenko, Bykovsky, Filatyev, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Kartashov, Khrunov, Komarov, Leonov, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rafikov, Shonin, Titov, Varlamov, Volynov, Zaikin.

  The group was selected to provide pilot astronauts for the Vostok manned spaceflight program.. Qualifications: Military jet aircraft pilots under 30 years of age; under 170 cm tall; under 70 kg in weight.. While the Americans sought mature test pilots for their first spaceflights, the Soviets recruited young pilots with the intent of training them for a career as spacemen. There were 3,000 applicants following interviews with medical doctor teams that toured Soviet air bases beginning in August 1959. 102 were called for physical and psychological tests. 8 of these were selected, but then Chief Designer Korolev said he wanted a pool three times larger than the American Mercury cadre. Of the 20 selected, 12 would fly in space. Of the 8 that did not, 1 died in a ground fire in training; 3 were dismissed for disciplinary reasons; and 4 left following injuries in training.

• Cosmonaut crew selections - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov. Flight: Vostok 1. Six of the 20 cosmonauts have been selected by the VVS for final examinations and assignment to Vostok flight crews - Bykovsky, Nikolayev, Popovich, Gagarin, Nelyubov, Titov. The exams are set for 17-18 January..

• Cosmonaut examinations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov. Flight: Vostok 1.

  The Examination Commission consists of members from the VVS Air Force , AN Academy of Science, industry, and LII Flight Test Institute. The sessions are filmed. Each cosmonaut sits in a Vostok mock-up for 40 to 50 minutes and describes the equipment and the operations to be conducted in each phase of flight. Special emphasis is given in the examiners' questions on orientation of the spacecraft for manual retrofire and egress on land or water. For this phase, Gagarin, Titov, Nikolayev, and Popovich are rated 'outstanding' and Nelyubov and Bykovsky 'good'.

• Cosmonaut examinations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov. Flight: Vostok 1.

  The essay portion of the written examination consists of three questions, with the essay replies to be written out in 20 minutes. After handing in the essay, each cosmonaut is given three to five multiple choice questions. All six pass and are rated as ready to fly the Vostok 3KA. But which of the six is best suited to be the first man in space (at least publicly - one Vostok flight in 1960 would have resulted in the death of the cosmonaut). Gagarin, Titov, and Nelyubov are in the top echelon. Nikolayev is the quietest of the six. Bykovsky is less so, especially in internal meetings, but he says nothing important and doesn't contribute anything substantial. Popovich is a puzzle, his behaviour perhaps influenced by secret family problems.

• Kuibyshev - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Karpov, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov, Yazdovskiy. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1.

  The VVS contingent departs for Tyuratam in three Il-14's. The two with cosmonauts aboard stop at Kuibyshev to give the pilots a look at the recovery zone. Aboard the first aircraft are Kamanin, Gagarin, Nelyubov, and Popovich. Aboard the other are Titov, Bykovsky, and Nikolayev. At the VVS Sanatorium at Privolzhskiy on the Volga the cosmonauts relax, and play ping-pong, chess, and billiards. The cosmonauts, Kamanin, Yazdovskiy, and Karpov sleep together in a single large room. Kamanin finds it a lively group; only Gagarin is pale and quieter than the others. On 7 March his wife had their second daughter and only yesterday he brought them back from the hospital. It was tough on him to then have to leave them on his dangerous secret mission - to be the first man into space.

• Tyuratam - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Keldysh, Korolev, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The cosmonauts play chess and cards on the flight to Tyuratam. At the airfield, Korolev, Keldysh, and five film cameramen await the cosmonauts. Korolev and Keldysh warmly greet the cosmonauts, but categorically refuse to be filmed. Korolev asks each cosmonaut one or two technical questions. All are correctly answered. Korolev says he wants to ensure that each one of them is 'ready to fly today'. As of now, six Vostoks have been launched, of which four reached orbit, and two landed successfully (one of these albeit after an emergency separation from the third stage on a suborbital trajectory). Two have been unsuccessful, including one on-pad failure on 28 July 1960. Two hours after arrival the cosmonauts go to the MIK assembly hall to familiarise themselves with the launch vehicle and spacecraft. At 14:00 Kamanin meets with the cosmonauts to review the 'Cosmonaut's Manual'. They make several suggestions. They do not feel it is necessary to loosen the parachute harness during the one-orbit flight. They note that the gloves are tried on only 15 minutes before the launch, and not on the closing of the hatch as indicated by Alekseyev. They recommend that a shortened version of the manual should be on board the spacecraft for use in case of a manual re-entry. Communications will be mainly using the laryngeal microphone Incidents will be recorded in the ship's log. The cosmonauts should be able to manually activate the reserve parachute. Kamanin agrees with the latter, but there is no time to change it for the first flight.

• Korabl-Sputnik 5 - . Payload: Vostok 3KA s/n 2. Mass: 4,695 kg (10,350 lb). Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Goreglyad, Kamanin, Karpov, Keldysh, Kirillov, Korolev, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov, Voskresenskiy, Yazdovskiy. Agency: RVSN. Program: Vostok. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok. Duration: 0.0600 days. Decay Date: 1961-03-25 . USAF Sat Cat: 95 . COSPAR: 1961-Iota-1. Apogee: 175 km (108 mi). Perigee: 175 km (108 mi). Inclination: 64.90 deg. Period: 88.00 min.

  Carried dog Zvezdochka and mannequin Ivan Ivanovich. Ivanovich was again ejected from the capsule and recovered by parachute, and Zvezdochka was successfully recovered with the capsule on March 25, 1961 7:40 GMT.
  Officially: Development of the design of the space ship satellite and of the systems on board, designed to ensure man's life functions during flight in outer space and return to Earth. Additional Details: here....

• Vostok preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Korolev, Moskalenko, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rudnev, Titov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Sever.

  Kamanin plays badminton with Gagarin, Titov, and Nelyubov, winning 16 to 5. At 12:00 a meeting is held with the cosmonauts at the Syr Darya River. Rudnev, Moskalenko, and Korolev informally discuss plans with Gagarin, Titov, Nelyubov, Popovich, Nikolayev, and Bykovsky. Korolev addresses the group, saying that it is only four years since the Soviet Union put the first satellite into orbit, and here they are about to put a man into space. The six cosmonauts here are all ready and qualified for the first flight. Although Gagarin has been selected for this flight, the others will follow soon - in this year production of ten Vostok spacecraft will be completed, and in future years it will be replaced by the two or three-place Sever spacecraft. The place of these cosmonauts here does not indicate the completion of our work, says Korolev, but rather the beginning of a long line of Soviet spacecraft. Korolev predicts that the flight will be completed safely, and he wishes Yuri Alekseyevich success. Kamanin and Moskalenko follow with their speeches. In the evening the final State Commission meeting is held. Launch is set for 12 April and the selection of Gagarin for the flight is ratified. The proceedings are recorded for posterity on film and tape.

• Vostok 3/4 training - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Ustinov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 3, Vostok 4.

  Kamanin selects the cosmonauts for the dual flight ordered by Ustinov: Nikolayev and Popovich, with Nelyubov and Bykovsky as back-ups. Ustinov has ordered launch by 10-12 March. - such is the Soviet's lousy leadership, Kamanin notes. They don't do anything for months, then suddenly want a manned launch within 10 days. Korolev wants a three-day flight, but the VVS wants no more than two days, and only then if the cosmonauts are in excellent condition after the first day.

• Vostok 3/4 delayed - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 3, Vostok 4. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Zenit-2 satellite.

  Due to technical problems and the launch failure of a Zenit spy satellite, the launch of the dual Vostoks is pushed back to April. Therefore a trip to New York by the cosmonauts in March will not be possible. In any case the Presidium has decided against allowing them to address the United Nations.

• Vostok 3/4 to launch 5-10 April - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Korolev, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 3, Vostok 4. Korolev has set this date and still wants a three-day flight. All of the cosmonauts and their trainers are opposed to any flight longer than two days..

• Cosmonaut salaries - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anikeyev, Belyayev, Bykovsky, Filatyev, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Kartashov, Khrunov, Komarov, Leonov, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rafikov, Shonin, Titov, Volynov, Zaikin. Kamanin reviews cosmonaut salaries. Gagarin is getting 639 roubles a year; Titov 579; Komarov 528 (due to his rank as major and years in service); and the rest, being captains, receive 483. Gagarin is making more than Kamanin, his commander..

• Vostok 3 - . Call Sign: Sokol (Falcon ). Crew: Nikolayev. Backup Crew: Bykovsky, Volynov. Payload: Vostok 3KA s/n 5. Mass: 4,722 kg (10,410 lb). Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Barmin, Gagarin, Khrushchev, Kirillov, Kozlov, Frol, Popovich, Smirnov, Ustinov. Agency: RVSN. Program: Vostok. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Vostok 3. Spacecraft: Vostok. Duration: 3.93 days. Decay Date: 1962-08-15 . USAF Sat Cat: 363 . COSPAR: 1962-A-Mu-1. Apogee: 218 km (135 mi). Perigee: 166 km (103 mi). Inclination: 65.00 deg. Period: 88.30 min.

  Joint flight with Vostok 4. The first such flight, where Vostok capsules were launched one day apart, coming within a few kilometers of each other at the orbital insertion of the second spacecraft. The flight was supposed to occur in March, but following various delays, one of the two Vostok pads was damaged in the explosion of the booster of the third Zenit-2 reconnsat in May. Repairs were not completed until August. Vostok 3 studied man's ability to function under conditions of weightlessness; conducted scientific observations; furthered improvement of space ship systems, communications, guidance and landing. Immediately at orbital insertion of Vostok 4, the spacecraft were less than 5 km apart. Popovich made radio contact with Cosmonaut Nikolayev. Nikolayev reported shortly thereafter that he had sighted Vostok 4. Since the Vostok had no maneuvering capability, they could not rendezvous or dock, and quickly drifted apart. The launches did allow Korolev to offer something new and different, and gave the launch and ground control crews practice in launching and handling more than one manned spacecraft at a time. The cosmonaut took colour motion pictures of the earth and the cabin interior. Additional Details: here....

• Vostok 6A (cancelled) - . Crew: Ponomaryova. Backup Crew: Yerkina. Payload: Vostok 3KA s/n 8. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Tereshkova, Ustinov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 6A. Spacecraft: Vostok. Decay Date: 1963-06-19 . USAF Sat Cat: 595 . Apogee: 192 km (119 mi). Perigee: 163 km (101 mi). Inclination: 64.90 deg. Period: 88.00 min.

  From August 1962 until February 21, 1963 it was planned that the next two Vostok flights (Vostok 5 and 6) would take place in March-April 1963 and be a dual female flight. Two capsules would be launched a day apart; each would remain aloft for three days. Although a final decision would only be made at the last minute, cosmonaut chief Kamanin always planned to name Tereshkova for the first flight. She was appropriately feminine and modest, and always mouthed the correct Communist party line in interviews. Ponomaryova was considered the most qualified candidate technically and emotionally for the Vostok 6 flight. However her aggressive feminism and failure to mouth Soviet catch-phrases were considered drawbacks by the male Communist stalwarts that ran the programme. This dual female flight plan was approved all the way up the Soviet hierarchy until it was killed at the last moment at a meeting of the Presidium of the Communist Party on 21 March 1963 by party ideologue Kozlov and Ministry of Defence Chief Ustinov. Only one female would be allowed to fly for propaganda purposes. A male cosmonaut (Bykovsky) was rushed into final training, delaying the dual flights for two months. Tereshkova made it into space aboard Vostok 6, following Bykovsky aboard Vostok 5. But Ponomaryova and the other female cosmonauts trained in the 1960's never flew.

• Cosmonaut training for Vostok 5/6. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Khrunov, Leonov, Tereshkova, Volynov. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  It is clear that the female cosmonauts are trained and ready for an August flight, and the men (Bykovskiy, Volynov, Leonov, Khrunov) can complete training by that date. The male cosmonauts object to spending 7 to 8 days in a spacesuit in the ground spacecraft mock-up as required by the flight doctors. They don't want to spend more than 3 to 4 days.

• Kamanin informed that a dual spaceflight has been decreed within the next 6 weeks. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Korolev, Leonov, Tereshkova, Titov, Volynov. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6.

  Only today is Kamanin informed that a dual flight has been decreed within the next 3 to 6 weeks. The women are ready, but Bykovskiy and Volynov need a few parachute jumps and training in the hot mock-up. Leonov and Khrunov need additional centrifuge training as well. Bykovskiy and Volynov should be ready by 30 May, and Leonov and Khrunov by 15 June. Therefore earliest possible launch date is 5 to 15 June. Alekseyev's bureau is as always the pacing factor. He can adapt one of the female ejection seats for Bykovskiy, but not for Volynov. The space suit for Leonov will only be completed by 30 May. Kamanin talks to Korolev about dumping Alekseyev's bureau in the future. Cosmonaut parachute trainer Nikitin agrees that Bykovskiy can complete his parachute qualification at Fedosiya on 9-10 May. Further bad behaviour by Titov is reported during a trip to Kiev. He insulted an officer ('I am Titov, who are you?') and then had general's wives intervene on his behalf to get him out of trouble.

• Vostok 5 / Vostok 6 Planning - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Keldysh, Khrunov, Korolev, Leonov, Ponomaryova, Rudenko, Solovyova, Tereshkova, Volynov, Yerkina. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Korolev reports still problems with components of the electrical system from the Kharkov factory -- the same problems that existed in 1962. The cosmonauts will go to Tyuratam on 27/28 May, with launch planned for 3/5 June. Bykovskiy is named prime for Vostok 5, with Volynov his backup. Tereshkova is named prime for Vostok 6, with Solovyova and Ponomaryeva both as her backups. This selection is however made despite strong support for Ponomaryeva as prime by Keldysh and Rudenko.

• Korolev fights excessive VVS staff at Tyuratam. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Bykovsky, Cooper, Korolev. Flight: Mercury MA-9, Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft Bus: Sokol. Spacecraft: Sokol SK-1.

  The VVS wants to send 55 staff to Tyuratam for the launches, but Korolev wants no more than 25. This is just possible - 11 cosmonauts, 8 engineers, and vital support staff only. Bykovskiy was to start a two day run in the hot mock-up, but it was called off due to defects with his suits - the biosensors were wired to his helmet microphone! The suit seems not even to have been tested before delivery. Alekseyev was supposed to have it ready by 9 May, now it will only be ready for use by 14 May. Gordon Cooper is scheduled for a 34 hour Mercury flight tomorrow....

• Tereshkova and Solovyova rated most ready to fly on Vostok 6. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Ponomaryova, Solovyova, Tereshkova, Yerkina. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok. Tereshkova and Solovyova are most ready to fly and will be sent to Fedosiya for sea training first. Ponomaryova and Yerkina will follow tomorrow. Bykovskiy started his run in the hot mock-up at 10:00 am. .

• Cooper's flight scrubbed; Bukovskiy to start in Vostok 5 hot mock-up. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Cooper. Flight: Mercury MA-9, Vostok 5. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Cooper's flight was scrubbed due to a problem with the Bermuda tracking site. Bykovskiy's suit microphone failed on the second day in the hot-mock-up and he as to communicate by telephone or telegraph. The doctor's insistence that each cosmonaut spend the full duration of his planned flight in the hot mock-up is idiotic. The US practice is to simulate the active portions of the flight only. In actuality every day spent in a suit on the earth is as gruelling as three days in space.

• Bykovsky's ordeal in Vostok-5 hot mock-up to be ended on third day. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Cooper. Flight: Mercury MA-9, Vostok 5. Spacecraft: Vostok. It is decided that extending Bykovskiy's ordeal in the hot mock-up to a third day makes no sense. The IAKM doctors are utterly incompetent. Cooper has landed after a successful flight. The US is now hot on our tail in the space race. .

• Problems with Titov again. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Titov, Volynov. Flight: Vostok 5. Spacecraft Bus: Sokol. Spacecraft: Sokol SK-1.

  Problems with Titov again. While on a road trip with a journalist, he left a satchel with sensitive and classified papers unattended in his car - documents from Korolev, secret state decrees by the Supreme Soviet, etc. At 12:30 Volynov took Bykovskiy's place in the hot mock-up. Examination of Bykovskiy's suit showed that it had been incorrectly assembled.

• The cosmonauts are informed of the selections for the Vostok 5/6 flights. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Khrunov, Korolev, Leonov, Ponomaryova, Solovyova, Tereshkova, Volynov, Yerkina. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok. Korolev asks Ponomaryova why she is so sad - 'I am not sad, but serious, as always'..

• Vostok 5/6 Flight Preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Korolev, Ponomaryova, Solovyova, Tereshkova, Volynov. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  At 9 am Tereshkova, Solovyova, and Ponomaryova practice donning and doffing their space suits. Bykovskiy and Volynov prepare their ship's logs. Korolev discusses plans for tests of the cosmonaut's ability to discern objects from space. Colonel Kirillov completes preparation of the spacecraft for flight.

• The State Commission for Vostok 5/6 launches meets. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  All is ready, but the wind is predicted to by 15 to 20 m/s on 7 June. The launch vehicle cannot be launched in winds over 15 m/s. Bykovskiy and Tereshkova are confirmed as the crew for 8 and 3 day flight durations. When they return to earth, a new and difficult life as celebrities will begin for them -- they will be known all over the world.

• Vostok 5/6 Flight Preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Volynov. Flight: Vostok 3, Vostok 4, Vostok 5. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  On the last five days it has been 25 deg C during the days and 15 deg C at night. In the evening the classified film on Nikolayev and Popovich's flights is screened. Kamanin regrets that it cannot be made public. What the Soviet state considers secrets - the configuration of the rocket and spacecraft, the identity of the managers and launch teams - are public knowledge in the US program. A VVS Li-2 (DC-3) transport arrives at Tyuratam with three tonnes of fruit. A real treat for the launch teams. The cosmonauts spend their final night in the cottages. These are equipped with good-quality Italian air conditioners that keep the cosmonauts comfortable on their last night on earth.

• Launches of Vostok 5 and 6 delayed - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Titov. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Launches of Vostok 5 and 6 are delayed due to failure of the command radio line. There were many such failures during preparation of the spacecraft. It will take three to four days to fix. Kamanin inspects the site for the planned cosmonaut quarters on the Syr Darya river. It is located next to Khrushchev's houses (which he has handed over to Chelomei for quartering his people) and the television centre. The building will face east, with a view of the river and a wooded island. Bykovskiy is run through a first 'practice press conference' to teach him the correct responses to questions. The military officers want to minimise press contacts with the cosmonauts in any case. But the kids in the town are mad about the cosmonauts -- the chanted from 6 to 11 pm in the evening outside their quarters, and Kamanin has seen teenage girls stand in the rain for hours for a chance to see Titov (and he never even came out as promised).

• Vostok 5 slipped to 14 June - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Korolev, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The cosmonauts spend the day on the beach. Tereshkova sits a long time with Korolev on the balcony on the second floor of the house on the river. He interviews here thoroughly to make sure she is ready for the flight. The State Commission meets at 17:00. The expected solar flare did not occur, but the Crimean Observatory claims the risk will remain high. The decision is made to defer the launches to 14/15 June.

• Vostok 5 preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky. Flight: Vostok 5. Spacecraft: Vostok. The next two days are spent waiting - on the beach in the heat, in fishing, and in politics between the brass at the site. .

• Vostok 5 a go for 14 June. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky. Flight: Vostok 5. Spacecraft: Vostok. The solar activity has subsided and the launch of Vostok 5 is set for the following day. Kamanin has foreboding about the flight - eight days in space will be tough on both man and machine. .

• Vostok 5 Launch - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Khrushchev, Kirillov, Korolev, Pilyugin, Tyulin. Flight: Vostok 5. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  At 8 am the State Commission meets and approves a five-hour countdown to launch of Vostok 5 at 14:00. The cosmonaut and his backup have slept well and are at medical at 9:00 for the pre-flight physical examination and donning of their space suits. At T minus 2 hours and fifteen minutes they ride the bus to the pad. A few minutes after Bykovskiy is inserted into the capsule, problems with the UHF communications channels are encountered - three of the six channels seem to be inoperable. Gagarin and Odintsov are consulted on how it will be for the cosmonaut to fly with just three channels operable - is it a Go or No-Go? Go! Next a problem develops with the ejection seat. After the hatch is sealed, a technician cannot find one of the covers that should have been removed from the ejection seat mechanism. It is necessary to unbolt the hatch and check - the seat will not eject if the cover has been left in place. At T minus 15 minutes Gagarin, Korolev, Kirillov, and Kamanin go into the bunker adjacent to the rocket.

  A new problem arises -- the 'Go' light for the Block-E third stage won't illuminate on the control room console. It can't be determined if it is a failure of the stage or an instrumentation failure. It will take two to five hours to bring up the service tower and check out the stage. But if the rocket is left fuelled that long, regulations say it must be removed from the pad and sent back to the factory for refurbishment. In that case there can be no launch until August. Krylov and the State Commission would rather defer the launch to August. The last possible launch time is 17:00 in order to have correct lighting conditions for retrofire and at emergency landing zones. But Korolev, Tyulin, Kirillov, and Pilyugin have faith in their rocket, decide that the problem must be instrumentation, and recycle the count for a 17:00 launch.

  The launch goes ahead perfectly at 17:00 - even all six UHF communications channels function perfectly. On orbit 4 Bykovskiy talks to Khrushchev from orbit and good television images are received from the capsule. Bykovskiy reports he can see the stars but not the solar corona. His orbit is good for eleven days.

• Vostok 5 - . Call Sign: Yastreb (Hawk ). Crew: Bykovsky. Backup Crew: Leonov, Volynov. Payload: Vostok 3KA s/n 7. Mass: 4,720 kg (10,400 lb). Nation: Russia. Program: Vostok. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Vostok 5. Spacecraft: Vostok. Duration: 4.96 days. Decay Date: 1963-06-19 . USAF Sat Cat: 591 . COSPAR: 1963-020A. Apogee: 131 km (81 mi). Perigee: 130 km (80 mi). Inclination: 64.90 deg. Period: 87.10 min.

  Joint flight with Vostok 6. The Soviet Union launched Vostok 5, piloted by Lt. Col. Valery F. Bykovsky. Two days later Lt. Valentina V. Tereshkova, the first spacewoman, followed in Vostok 6. On its first orbit, Vostok 6 came within about five km of Vostok 5, the closest distance achieved during the flight, and established radio contact. Both cosmonauts landed safely on June 19. The space spectacular featured television coverage of Bykovsky that was viewed in the West as well as in Russia. Unlike earlier missions, only a black and white film camera was carried. Photometric measurements of the earth's horizon were made.

  Mission objectives were officially: further study of the effect of various space-flight factors in the human organism; extensive medico-biological experiments under conditions of prolonged flight; further elaboration and improvement of spaceship systems.

  Vostok 5 was originally planned to go for a record eight days. The launch was delayed repeatedly due to high solar activity and technical problems. Finally the spacecraft ended up in a lower than planned orbit. Combined with increased atmospheric activity due to solar levels, Vostok 5 quickly decayed temperatures in the service module reached very high levels.

  Bykovsky also experienced an unspecified problem with his waste management system (a spill?) which made conditions in the cabin 'very uncomfortable'. He was finally ordered to return after only five days in space.

  To top it all off, once again the Vostok service module failed to separate cleanly from the reentry sphere. Wild gyrations ensued until the heat of reentry burned through the non-separating retraining strap.

• Vostok 5 day 3 / Vostok 6 launch - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Khrushchev, Korolev, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Bykovskiy slept well, his pulse was 54. The ground station could observe him via television - he made no motion while sleeping. On orbit 23 the cosmonaut was to communicate with earth, but no transmissions were received. Gagarin asks him why, and Bykovskiy simply replies that he had nothing to say and had already had a communications session with Zarya-1. But this was not true, they also reported no transmissions. At 07:00 he is asleep again, pulse 48-51. An hour later Korolev calls and discusses the impending launch of Vostok 6, 11 hours later.

  At 12:15 Tereshkova is on the pad. Her pulse skyrockets to 140 aboard the elevator to the top of the rocket. 10 to 15 minutes later she is in the capsule and testing radio communications with ground control. There are no problems with the spacecraft or launch vehicle during the countdown - everything goes perfectly, just as it did on 12 April 1961 when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. Tereshkova handles the launch and ascent to orbit much better than Popovich or Nikolayev according to her biomedical readings and callouts. Kamanin feels reassured that it was no mistake to select her for the flight.

  The launch of the first woman into space creates a newspaper sensation throughout the world. Direct orbit-to-orbit communications between Tereshkova and Bykovskiy are excellent. She talks to Khrushchev and the Soviet leadership soon thereafter. This was truly a great victory for Communism!

• Vostok 5 and Vostok 6 return to earth - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Korolev, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  In the morning Tereshkova manually oriented the spacecraft for re-entry easily and held the position for 15 minutes. She was very happy with the result. At 9:00 the state commission took their places in the command post. At 9:34:40 the retrofire command was sent to Vostok 6. After a few seconds, telemetry was received indicating that the engine burn was proceeding normally. The nerves of the commission members finally settled down, but Tereshkova did not call out each event as required. No report of successful solar orientation was received, no report of retrofire, and no report of jettison of the service module. Things remained very tense in the command post - no communications were received from the capsule at all. Knowledge that the spacecraft was returning normally were only received via telemetry, including the signal that the parachute opened correctly from above the landing site. Both spacecraft landed two degrees of latitude north of the aim point. It was calculated that this could have occurred by duplicate landing commands having been sent, but such a failure could not be duplicated in post-flight tests of ground equipment.

  Many errors occurred in the entire landing sequences, including actions of the VVS recovery forces. The conditions of the cosmonauts were only reported several hours after their landings. Big crowds gathered at both landing sites. Bykovskiy spent the night in Kustan, then left on 20 June aboard an Il-14 for Kuibyshev. Tereshkova spent her first night in Karaganda, then flew in an Il-8 to Kuibyshev. Many congratulatory phone calls were received from the Soviet leadership. Korolev declared he had no longer had the time to personally direct Vostok flights and wanted to hand the spacecraft over to the military for operational use. He could then concentrate on development of the Soyuz and Lunik spacecraft.

• Landing of Vostok 5 - . Return Crew: Bykovsky. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 5. Vostok 5 landed at 11:06 GMT at 53:24 N 67:37 E..

• Vostok 5/6 cosmonaut debriefing - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Korolev, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Korolev, Tyulin, and Rudenko left Tyuratam aboard an An-12, followed by 60 others (cosmonauts, officers, engineers) aboard an An-10. General Goreglyad requests that 'extraneous' staff remain in Kuibyshev, while the rest will proceed on to Moscow with Bykovskiy and Tereshkova. The aircraft arrive at 11:30 in Kuibyshev, then go to the debriefing building on the Volga river. There the debriefing of the two cosmonauts began at 13:00. After the debriefings, in the evening, Korolev took the cosmonauts for a trip on the Volga. Kamanin was infuriated - partying would ruin the post-flight medical tracking.

• Vostok 5/6 cosmonaut debriefing - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Tomorrow morning the entire entourage would depart for Moscow. But on this day at the house on the Volga the cosmonauts were subjected to the attentions of seventy doctors, 100 correspondents, and a large additional number of KGB supervisors, military officers, and engineers. Tereshkova looked fresh and her first press conference with sixty correspondents went well - she made no big errors.

• Vostok 5/6 cosmonaut welcome in Moscow - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Khrushchev, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The big day for the cosmonauts. Departure for Moscow was scheduled for 10:30, with the meeting with Khrushchev at Vnukovo planned for 15:00. A sensitive issue - who would exit the aircraft first - Tereshkova, the main celebrity, or Bykovskiy, the senior cosmonaut and the first one launched? An enormous motorcade takes the entourage from the house on the Volga to the airport. Tereshkova and Kamanin are in the lead automobile, followed by Bykovskiy in the second, then the correspondents and so far in others, at five minute intervals. Huge crowds all along the route chant 'Valya! Valya! During the flight to Moscow Kamanin goes over Tereshkova's speech with her. When she and Bykovskiy get off the plane and march up to the tribune, a completely new life will begin for them. After the immense reception at the airport, they go with the leadership to a huge rally at Red Square.

• Controversy over Tereshkova's performance - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Keldysh, Korolev, Tereshkova, Tyulin, Yazdovskiy. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6.

  The cosmonauts are prepared by Keldysh, Tyulin, and Korolev for their first big press conference. Yazdovskiy has inserted a paragraph in the official press release about Tereshkova's poor emotional state while in space. He claims she experienced overwhelming emotions, tiredness, and a sharply reduced ability to work and complete all of her assigned tasks. Kamanin takes him aside and asks him not to exaggerate her difficulties during the flight. She only had tasks assigned for the first day. When the flight was extended for a second, and then a third day, there was essentially nothing for her to do. The ground command did nothing to support her during those additional days. She certainly was never tired, never objected, but rather did all she could to complete fully the flight program.

• Vostok 5/6 returned cosmonauts traditional meeting with Korolev - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Korolev, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The returned cosmonauts have the traditional meeting with Korolev at the design bureau and hand over their flight logs. The new cosmonaut group is presented as well. Korolev is in a good mood, and makes an especially long-winded speech. Tereshkova has to leave early, at 12:00, to attend yet another press conference and a woman's congress. These activities kept her going until 22:00 in the evening - a gruelling schedule indicative of what was to come.

• Vostok 5/6 cosmonauts preparared for first international press conference. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Keldysh, Serbin, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  At a meeting of the Central Committee, Tereshkova and Bykovskiy are taken through possible questions and correct replies by Serbin and Keldysh in preparation for their first international press conference. The training extends form 10 in the morning to 17:00 in the afternoon.

• Kamanin presses for specialised cosmonaut training - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Rudenko, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6.

  In a two hour meeting with Rudenko, Kamanin attempts to convince him of the need for specialised cosmonaut training (qualifying as spacecraft commander, pilot, navigator, engineer, etc.) for future multi-crew spacecraft. Kamanin points out that in five to seven years they will be routinely flying 2 or 3 place spacecraft and need to start differentiating training now in order to be ready in time. However Rudenko remains unconvinced. Meanwhile Bykovskiy and Tereshkova are at the cosmonaut training centre, completing their flight reports. Kamanin faces difficulties in booking a hotel for the entire cosmonaut group in the Crimea in August --- he can't find any place with fifty vacancies, and concludes he'll have to split the group up. Pressure is coming from the Foreign Ministry for Tereshkova to make an early trip to Brazil, but she is already booked for two or three tours of friendly socialist countries beginning on 30 August and any additional trips can only be made after those are completed.

• Korolev wants review of Tereshkova's flight performance - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Korolev, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6.

  Kamanin discusses future cosmonaut book plans with writer Riabchikov. He is interrupted by a call from Korolev. Korolev wants Tereshkova and Bykovskiy in his office the following morning at 10 am sharp and he wants a full explanation for Tereshkova's poor self- samochuviniy on orbits 32 and 42, about her pvote, her poor appetite during the flight, and her failure to complete some assigned tasks. He blames Kamanin for providing her with inadequate training prior to the flight -- which Kamanin finds a joke since he had never received any support in the past from Korolev for his requests for more and better training of the cosmonauts in high-G and zero-G situations. Korolev had also never listened to any of Kamanin's complaints about the need to improve the living conditions for the cosmonaut on the Vostok spacecraft.

• Bykovskiy and Tereshkova take their first road trip - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6.

  Bykovskiy and Tereshkova take their first road trip, to Yaroslavl. It is clear that Tereshkova is the star and Bykovskiy is in her shadow. Bykovskiy calls Kamanin - he asks that his wife and Tereshkova's brother be allowed to accompany them on their first foreign trip. Kamanin rejects the request.

• Cosmonaut tour plans through December 1963. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Cosmonaut tour plans are firmed up for September-December 1963.. Tereshkova and Bykovskiy are to be given a gruelling schedule, having to visit Bulgaria, Mongolia, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Mexico, India, Ghana, and Indonesia. .

• Kamanin picks up a new Volga automobile. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Korolev, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 10, Vostok 6, Vostok 7, Vostok 8, Vostok 9.

  Kamanin picks up a new Volga automobile. It cost him 5513 roubles, but one door doesn't fit and the trunk is scarred with excess hardened resin. Sukarno has asked for Tereshkova and Bykovskiy to visit Indonesia for two weeks in August, but this is impossible.

  In a three hour meeting Korolev goes over his future flight plans for Vostok. The first flight will be unmanned, with a biological payload, in February or March 1964. The flight is to last 10 or 11 days and take the specimens up to 600 to 1000 km altitude, into the lower reaches of the Van Allen radiation belts. This will be followed by three cosmonaut flights of ten days with significant military and scientific experiments. A new ground control system will be installed and tested to handle all in-flight emergencies. A new autonomous on-board navigation system will be flight tested. Korolev wants the military to take over conduct of future Vostok flights - they are taking up to much of his time and nerves. He has told this repeated to Khrushchev and Brezhnev without result. Meanwhile Kamanin lobbies within the military hierarchy for the removal of Odintsev. It is decided that the matter will be taken up at the next meeting of the Military Soviet.

• Tereshkova and Bykovskiy begin an eight day tour of Bulgaria. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6.

• Vostok 5/6 cosmonauts' Far East tour - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The cosmonauts are to depart on a Far East tour on 27 November, but scheduling is difficult because Sukarno calls to change the dates for Indonesia nearly daily. Kamanin develops four variant scenarios. The cosmonauts are to visit Sri Lanka, Burma, and Indonesia.

• Bykovsky achieved lunar flight duration - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. According to a review of Bykovsky's flight log, Bykovsky could have successfully completed a circumlunar flight. Tereshkova would have tired on such a flight - she ate poorly and slept too much..

• Crews for 1964 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Nikolayev, Rudenko, Tereshkova. Program: Vostok, Soyuz, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz A-1, Soyuz A-2, Soyuz A-3, Soyuz A-4, Vostok 7, Vostok 8, Vostok 9. Spacecraft: Soyuz A, Soyuz B, Soyuz V, Voskhod.

  Kamanin meets with Rudenko, to discuss selection of three crews for Vostok and three crews for Soyuz flights in 1964. Ioffe reports that the Soyuz docking simulator will be completed by 25 December. Tereshkova, Nikolayev, and Bykovsky are in Indonesia on a public relations tour, to be followed by Burma.

• Cosmonaut plans - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Nikolayev, Tereshkova. Program: Vostok, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz A-1, Soyuz A-2, Soyuz A-3, Soyuz A-4, Vostok 10, Vostok 11, Vostok 12, Vostok 13, Vostok 7, Vostok 8, Vostok 9. Spacecraft: Soyuz A, Vostok.

  Kamanin is to put together a cosmonaut training plan for additional Vostok and new Soyuz flights by 1 February. Due to a lack of completed spacecraft, the next Vostok flight will not be possible until June 1964 at the earliest. The travel plans for the cosmonauts during the first half of 1964 are also to be drawn up. Tereshkova, Nikolayev, and Bykovsky are to tour India, Indonesia, Burma, Nepal, and Sri Lanka later in the year. Tereshkova will go to Ghana and Lebanon on 20 January, then to England on 31 January.

• Military Soviet on cosmonaut assignments - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Belyayev, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Demin, Gorbatko, Gulyayev, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Kugno, Leonov, Nikolayev, Ponomaryova, Popovich, Shatalov, Shonin, Solovyova, Titov, Volynov, Zaikin, Zholobov. Program: Vostok, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz A-1, Soyuz A-2, Soyuz A-3, Soyuz A-4, Vostok 10, Vostok 7, Vostok 8, Vostok 9. Spacecraft: Soyuz A, Vostok.

  The General Staff of the VVS considers future cosmonaut assignments. The acceptance of Beregovoi into the active cosmonaut corps is hotly contested. He has passed all the tests, but is 43 years old, and the official maximum age for a cosmonaut is 35. Finally it is decided that on 25 January six cosmonauts will begin training for Vostok flights (Volynov, Khrunov, Belyayev, Leonov, Komarov, and Beregovoi). On 1 February four crews will begin training for Soyuz flights: Crew 1: Nikolayev, Shonin, Demin, Kugno; Crew 2: Bykovsky, Zaikin, Artyukhin, Gulyayev; Crew 3: Popovich, Gorbatko, Ponomaryova, Kolodin; Crew 4: Titov, Shatalov, Solovyova, Zholobov.

• Gagarin travel plans - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Tereshkova. Gagarin and Bykovsky will travel to Sweden and Norway in March. Tereshkova's tour of Ghana and Lebanon is an organisational mess, with impossible flight schedules..

• American space plans - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin. Spacecraft: Almaz APOS, MOL, Soyuz PPK, Soyuz R.

  Following an overview of the planned trip of Bykovsky and Gagarin to Sweden and Norway on 1-15 March, American military space plans are reviewed. There are many fantastic projects, over a wide and well-financed front. Currently reconnaissance satellites are flying, to be followed by inspection, and then anti-satellite satellites in 3 to 5 years. After that manned military space stations are planned, manoeuvrable manned spacecraft, and the establishment of scientific and military bases on the moon. Despite this big US program, the Soviet military leadership shows no interest in Russian exploitation of space for military purposes.

• Lunar trainers - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Tereshkova. Program: Lunar L1, Lunar L3. Flight: Soyuz A-1, Soyuz A-2, Soyuz A-3, Soyuz A-4. Spacecraft: L3-1963, Soyuz A, Soyuz B, Soyuz V.

  Concepts for trainers for lunar landings and fly-bys are discussed. The five flown cosmonauts sit for entrance examinations to the Zhukovskiy Institute. Kamanin is irritated that of the five, only Bykovsky seems really bright and alert. Tereshkova is still studying for the examination.

• Voskhod candidates - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Keldysh, Korolev, Popovich, Titov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 1. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  Kamanin works out with the other ministries the criteria for the Voskhod crew. The commander will be a trained unflown cosmonaut. The others have to be civilians. The VVS will be responsible for training the passengers on a three-month schedule. Candidates will be considered from OKB-1, the Academy of Science, the IAKM (Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine) and the DOSAAF civilian flying organisation. After General staff review, it is decided the commander will be a flown cosmonaut (Titov, Bykovsky, or Popovich): that Korolev will submit six engineer-cosmonaut candidates from within OKB-1; that Korolev will co-ordinate submittal of a small group of physician-cosmonaut candidates; and that Keldysh will submit scientists from the Academy.

• Press preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Nikolayev, Popovich, Tereshkova, Titov. Kamanin meets with 'The Six' (flown cosmonauts) and prepares them for the onslaught of scheduled appearances and press conferences scheduled for the upcoming Cosmonautics Day (April 12). .

• Voskhod crews - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Bykovsky, Demin, Khrunov, Komarov, Leonov, Popovich, Titov, Volynov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 1. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  Komarov has declared that nine cosmonauts are spaceflight-ready: Bykovsky, Popovich, Titov, Volynov, Leonov, Khrunov, Belyayev, Komarov, and Demin. One of these will command Voskhod, the other two seats will be occupied by a physician and an engineer or news correspondent. Kamanin is given only two to three months to prepare the passengers for spaceflight - something he reiterates is a dangerous adventure.

• Cosmonauts on tour - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Nikolayev, Popovich, Tereshkova, Titov.

  Since 14 August most of the cosmonauts have been out of town. Gagarin is in Leningrad, Titov and Bykovsky in Kiev, Popovich in Lipetsk (being trained on the MiG-21), the Voskhod crews in Arkhangelsk. Only Tereshkova and Nikolayev remain in Moscow. Then comes the news that Popovich has injured his leg in a fall on some stairs. The incident came after Popovich picked up two 15-year old girls in his Volga.

• Cosmonauts dispersed - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Biryuzov, Bykovsky, Feoktistov, Gagarin, Komarov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Tereshkova, Titov, Yegorov.

  Kamanin receives a phone call from Serbin in the Central Committee, demanding that all nine flown cosmonauts be present at the unveiling of a space obelisk in Moscow the next day, and be on the podium at Red Square on 7 November. This is impossible - the cosmonauts are dispersed on vacation, cure, or public relations missions. Gagarin, Nikolayev, Popovich, and Tereshkova are in Sochi, and after discussion, it seems they will be able to get back by the next day. But Titov and Bykovsky are in Odessa, and it will take them three days to get back. The VVS leadership is contacted to arrange special flights, otherwise all nine could only be gathered by 9-10 November.

  Kamanin receives the decree creating the new TsUKOS military organisation that will direct Soviet spaceflight. He is sure such a resolution would never have passed had Biryuzov not been killed in the plane crash. The VVS retains only its existing role of cosmonaut training.

• Space obelisk unveiling - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Brezhnev, Bykovsky, Feoktistov, Gagarin, Komarov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Tereshkova, Titov, Yegorov.

  Gagarin, Titov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Tereshkova, and Bykovsky have all managed to make it to Moscow by plane, and they meet at TsPK at 13:00. Kamanin takes the unique opportunity of having them all together to discuss plans for their higher engineering education at the Zhukovskiy Academy, plans for construction of new quarters at the TsPK, and an overview of planned future missions based on recent resolutions. At 14:30 the group departs in four Volga automobiles for Moscow. The unveiling ceremony is at 16:00. Brezhnev, Kosygin, Mikoyan, and other bigwigs are there as well.

• Soyuz crews - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Demin, Feoktistov, Gagarin, Katys, Komarov, Korolev, Nikolayev, Volynov. Program: Voskhod, Soyuz, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 2, Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Voskhod.

  Kamanin calls Korolev, finds he is suffering from very low blood pressure (100/60). Kamanin suggests that candidates for the commander position in the first two Soyuz missions would be Gagarin, Nikolayev, Bykovsky, or Komarov. Korolev agrees basically, but says that he sees Bykovsky and Nikolayev as candidates for the first manned lunar flyby shots. Kamanin suggests Artyukhin and Demin for the engineer-cosmonaut role on the first Soyuz flights, but Korolev disagrees, saying Feoktistov has to be aboard. However Korolev agrees with Kamanin's selection for the next Voskhod flight - Volynov/Katys as prime crew, Beregovoi/Demin as backups. Later Kamanin corresponds with Stroev over modification of an Mi-4 helicopter as a lunar lander simulator.

• Voskhod/Soyuz crewing plans - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Artyukhin, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Katys, Kolodin, Komarov, Korolev, Matinchenko, Nikolayev, Ponomaryova, Solovyova, Volynov. Program: Voskhod, Soyuz, Lunar L3. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4, Voskhod 3, Voskhod 5. Spacecraft: LK, LK-1, Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-LOK, Voskhod.

  Kamanin meets with Korolev at 15:00 to discuss crew plans. As Soyuz pilot candidates, Kamanin proposes Gagarin, Nikolayev, Bykovsky, Komarov, Kolodin, Artyukhin, and Matinchenko. Korolev counters by proposing supplemental training of a supplemental group of engineer-cosmonauts from the ranks of OKB-1. He calls Anokhin, his lead test pilot, informs Korolev that there are 100 engineers working at the bureau that are potential cosmonauts candidates, of which perhaps 25 would complete the selection process. Kamanin agrees to assist OKB-1 in flight training of these engineer-cosmonauts. Kamanin again proposes Volynov and Katys as prime crew for the Voskhod 3 12-15 day flight. Korolev reveals that, even though Kamanin will have the crew ready by October, the spacecraft for the flight may not yet even be ready by November - Kamanin thinks January 1966 is more realistic. The discussion turns to the female EVA flight - Ponomaryova as pilot, Solovyova as spacewalker. It is decided that a group of 6 to 8 cosmonauts will begin dedicated training in September for lunar flyby and landing missions. Korolev advises Kamanin that metal fabrication of the N1 superbooster first article will be completed by the end of 1965. The booster will have a payload to low earth orbit of 90 tonnes, and later versions with uprated engines will reach 130 tonnes payload. Korolev foresees the payload for the first N1 tests being a handful of Soyuz spacecraft.

• Gagarin writes a letter to Brezhnev - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Biryuzov, Brezhnev, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Grechko, Leonov, Nikolayev, Titov. Program: Lunar L1, Voskhod, Soyuz. Gagarin has sent a letter to Brezhnev, complaining of the poor organisation of the Soviet space program. The Kremlin has received it... reaction is awaited. The letter specifically cites the multitude of space projects and de-emphasis of manned efforts.. Additional Details: here....

• Korolev visits Cosmonaut Training Center - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Brezhnev, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Komarov, Korolev, Leonov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Tereshkova, Titov.

  Korolev visits the centre, and spends more than six hours with the cosmonauts. However he says nothing about concrete flight plans. Afterwards Kamanin meets with Gagarin, Titov, Popovvich, Nikolayev, Tereshkova, Bykovsky, Komarov, and Belyayev (Leonov is at courses at the Academy). A profound pessimism prevails. Nothing has come of the letter to Brezhnev.

• Korolev buried in Red Square - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Brezhnev, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Komarov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov.

  The urn with Korolev's ashes is placed in the Kremlin Wall by an honor guard of cosmonauts and the highest leaders of the state. Kamanin knows that the like of Korolev will not be seen again. There are dozens of Chief Designers, but none with the genius, talent, and drive of Korolev. Kamanin worries for the future in the space race with the Americans. Even in life, Korolev was never able to achieve more than one or two spaceflights per year. Now, in 1966, they are supposed to achieve four times that flight rate without him.

• Voskhod/Soyuz crews - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Katys, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Matinchenko, Mozzhorin, Nikolayev, Ponomaryova, Popovich, Solovyova, Tyulin, Voronov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Voskhod 4, Voskhod 5.

  Tyulin and Mozzhorin review with Kamanin crewing plans. Even though the missions of Voskhod 4 and 5 are not yet clear, Tyulin wants to settle on Beregovoi and Katys for Voskhod 4, and Ponomaryova and Solovyova for Voskhod 5. Since October 1965 six crews have been in training for Soyuz flights: Gagarin -Voronov, Nikolayev-Gorbatko, Bykovsky-Matinchenko, Komarov-Kolodin, Zaikin-Khrunov, and Popovich-Artyukhin. But these are just nominal groupings, and firm crew assignments by mission have not yet been made.

• 23rd Party Congress - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Komarov, Leonov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Tereshkova, Titov. Program: Voskhod. All flown cosmonauts have been named as delegates, including Titov, who has objected to being taken away from his MiG-21 training for this..

• Soyuz simulators - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Leonov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Shonin, Solovyova, Titov, Volynov, Zaikin. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.

  The simulators and partial-task trainers continue very much behind schedule. There is talk of moving responsibility for them from Darevskiy's bureau to OKB-1. Popovich's fitness for future flight and command assignments is questionable. Nevertheless, he will join Titov, Leonov, Volynov, Shonin, Zaikin, Gagarin, and Solovyova at the Zhukovskiy Academy, from which they will be expected to graduate with advanced degrees in engineering in October 1967. Nikolayev, Bykovsky, and Gorbatko will finish one or two years later, since they will be preoccupied with flight assignments on the 7K-OK.

• Mishin asserts himself - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Burnazyan, Bykovsky, Frolov, Gagarin, Leonov, Makarov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Tyulin, Volkov. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4.

  Gagarin and Leonov visit Kamanin, who is on vacation at his dacha. They tell him of manoeuvres by Tyulin, Burnazyan, and Mishin in his absence. A VPK resolution will name crews for Soyuz missions that will consist of "invalid" engineers from OKB-1 (Anokhin, Frolov, Makarov, Volkov) instead of trained, flown cosmonauts (Gagarin, Nikolayev, Bykovsky).

• Soyuz crew manoeuvres - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Bykovsky, Dolgopolov, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Grechko, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Makarov, Malinovskiy, Mishin, Nikolayev, Rudenko, Smirnov, Tsybin, Tyulin, Ustinov, Volkov, Voronov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.

  Kamanin is back from leave and orients himself. VVS General Rudenko has been visited by Mishin, Tsybin, and Tyulin. They want to replace Kamanin's crews for the first Soyuz mission in September-October with a crew made up of OKB-1 engineers: Dolgopolov, Yeliseyev, and Volkov as the prime crew, Anokhin, Makarov, and Grechko as back-ups. Kamanin believes this absurd proposal, made only three months before the planned flight date, shows a complete lack of understanding on the part of OKB-1 management of the training and fitness required for spaceflight. Kamanin has had eight cosmonauts (Komarov, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Bykovsky, Voronov, Kolodin, Gagarin, and Nikolayev) training for this flight since September 1965. Yet Mishin and Tyulin have been shopping this absurd proposal to Smirnov, Ustinov, and Malinovskiy, who do not know enough to reject it.

• State Commission on Manned Spaceflight - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Belyayev, Bugrov, Bykovsky, Dolgopolov, Grechko, Komarov, Kubasov, Makarov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Tyulin, Volkov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4.

  Tyulin heads a meeting that brings the Soyuz crewing dispute into the open. The opposing crews are represented as follows:

  • Soyuz s/n 3: VVS: commander: Komarov; backup Belyayev. MOM: commander: Dolgopolov; backup Grechko. Flight engineer: VVS: open; MOM: Makarov, Backup: Bugrov.
  • Soyuz s/n 4: VVS: commander: Bykovsky; backup Nikolayev. MOM: commander: Yeliseyev; backup Anokhin. Flight engineer: VVS: open; MOM: Kubasov, Backup: Volkov.

  Kamanin is furious. Mishin and Tyulin think an engineer can be trained to be a spacecraft commander in three months, without passing a flight physical, without being a qualifed pilot, without screening and training on the centrifuge or zero-G aircraft, and without parachute training. They put no value in six years of VVS experience in cosmonaut training. They give no weight to the years of general training, spaceflight experience, and ten months of Soyuz-specific training his candidates have already had. He notes that the United States trains crews for a minimum of one to two years before a flight. Kamanin says this decision will not stand.

• Showdown on spacesuits - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Anokhin, Bushuyev, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Litvinov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Severin, Tsybin, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.

  At a meeting at LII MAP Zazakov, Litvinov, Mishin, Tsybin, Bushuev, Severin, Alekseyev, and Komarov spar over the hatch and spacesuit problem. Severin only agrees to modifying the ECS under immense pressure, but the modified suit will not be ready until November. Severin could not get Mishin to agree to an increased hatch diameter from Soyuz s/n 8 - Mishin will only "study the problem". An arrangement of the ECS around the waist of the cosmonaut is finally agreed. Mishin and Litvinov categorically rejected any modification of the hatch in the first production run of Soyuz.

  In turn, Factory 918 insisted on a final decision on Soyuz crews. They cannot build 16 of the custom-built spacesuits for all possible candidates for the flights (8 from VVS and 8 from OKB-1). It was therefore agreed that the commanders of the first two missions would be Komarov and Bykovsky, with Nikolayev and Gagarin as their backups. It was finally decided to assume that the other crew members would be either Khrunov and Gorbatko from the VVS, or Anokhin and Yeliseyev from OKB-1.

• Soyuz recovery training at sea - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Burnazyan, Bykovsky, Gorbatko, Grechko, Keldysh, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Kubasov, Nikolayev, Smirnov, Volkov, Voronov. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.

  Nikolayev, Bykovsky, Komarov, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Kolodin, and Voronov complete two parachute jumps each, with landing at sea. Training in sea-recovery by helicopter, with the cosmonauts in spacesuits, will be completed over the next two days. Smirnov is ready to sign a letter from Afanasyev, Burnazyan and Keldysh creating a new civilian cosmonaut training centre under the Ministry of Medium Machine Building, separate from the VVS centre. The letter is not coordinated with the Defence Ministry, and contradicts the letter sent by the four marshals to the Central Committee. Kamanin prepares a vigorous refutation of the letter's position. The physicians' board on OKB-1 candidates has only cleared Yeliseyev for flight - they could not agree on Volkov, Kubasov, and Grechko. OKB-1 only submitted four candidates for review, not the eight promised.

• VVS - OKB-1 relations at low ebb - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Mishin, Nikolayev. Program: Soyuz.

  Mishin invites Kamanin and his cosmonauts to the 20th Anniversary Party of OKB-1. Kamanin is so alienated he refuses to go, and sends only Nikolayev and Bykovsky as cosmonaut representatives. OKB-1 has wasted three months arguing about Soyuz crewing, and essential work to prepare for the flights has either not been done or kept from the VVS. No list of scientific experiments and procedures for the flights, adequate trainers, or information that would allow preparation of flight plans and log books has been provided. A minimum of four months will be required to prepare for flight after all these materials are delivered. Gagarin reports on the farce in sea recovery training at Fedosiya. It took eight days instead of the three planned to train 16 cosmonauts. Only after the VVS cosmonauts had left did Mishin sent 8 OKB-1 cosmonaut candidates, who were prohibited from training together with the VVS cosmonauts.

• Lunar flight cosmonauts assignments. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Dobrovolsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Grechko, Khrunov, Klimuk, Kolodin, Komarov, Kubasov, Leonov, Makarov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rukavishnikov, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Volkov, Voloshin, Volynov, Voronov, Yeliseyev, Zholobov. Program: Lunar L1. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1.

  In the period 1966 to 1968 there were five simultaneous Soviet manned space projects (Soyuz 7K-OK orbital; Soyuz 7K-L1 circumlunar; Soyuz VI military; L3 manned lunar landing; Almaz space station). Cosmonaut assignments were in constant flux, resulting in many claims in later years that 'I was being trained for the first moon flight'. Additional Details: here....

• Cosmonaut civilian program training groups - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Dobrovolsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Leonov, Nikolayev, Shatalov, Volynov, Voronov, Zholobov. Program: Soyuz, Lunar L1, Lunar L3. Flight: Soviet Lunar Landing, Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 2, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 3, Soyuz s/n 3/4, Soyuz s/n 5/6, Voskhod 3. Spacecraft: LK, Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-LOK, Soyuz 7K-OK.

  Kamanin organises the cosmonauts into the following training groups:

  • Soyuz 7K-OK: Gagarin, Komarov, Nikolayev, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Voronov, Kolodin
  • L1: Volynov, Dobrovolskiy, Voronov, Kolodin, Zholobov, Komarov, Bykovskiy
  • L3: Leonov, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Gagarin, Nikolayev, Shatalov

  Rudenko agrees with Kamanin's plan, except he urges him to assign more cosmonauts to the Soyuz 7K-OK group, and include OKB-1 cosmonauts in the 7K-OK, L1, and L3 groups, and Academy of Science cosmonauts in the L1 and L3 groups.

  These cosmonaut assignments were in constant flux, and many cosmonauts were assigned to train for more than one program - resulting in multiple claims in later years that 'I was being trained for the first moon flight'.

• Grechko breaks his leg in parachute training. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Bykovsky. Program: Soyuz, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1. Beregovoi has been named commander of the L1 training group in place of Bykovsky, who is busy with 7K-OK flight training..

• Soyuz crews have only 40 days for flight training. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Kubasov, Nikolayev, Volkov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A.

  First snow of the winter in Moscow. The training of Soyuz crews has to be completed within 40 days, but there is still no assurance the trainers will be ready by 15 November. Komarov will command the active spacecraft, and Bykovsky the passive. Gagarin and Nikolayev are their back-ups. The 20 December flight date can only be met if Khrunov and Gorbatko serve as flight engineers. Training of Kubasov, Volkov and Yeliseyev in 40 days is impossible. Yet there is still no agreement on the crew composition.

• Soyuz parachute fails in drop test. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Mishin, Tyulin. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.

  In a test of the reserve parachute at Fedosiya, the Soyuz capsule was dropped from the aircraft at 10,500 m. The drogue chute deployed normally, as did the main parachute. They were then jettisoned and the reserve parachute deployed normally. However descent on both main and auxiliary chutes occurs only with noticeable pulsations of their cupolas, with the capsule revolving at one RPM. In this case it finally led to failure of the lines of the reserve chute at 1500 m, after which it crashed to earth. Contributing to the problem was the jettison of the remaining hydrogen peroxide reaction control system fuel from the capsule during the descent. It is normally expected that 30 kg of the 70 kg load of propellant will remain after re-entry. When this was vented, it burned the parachute lines. Each line will normally carry a load of 450 kg, but after being burnt by the peroxide, they can be torn apart by hand. Meanwhile there is still no agreement on crew composition. Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov and Gorbatko can be ready for flight by10 December. However the VPK representatives, Tyulin and Mishin insist that their OKB-1 candidates be flown in stead of Khrunov and Gorbatko.

• VVS told to surrender on crew assignments issue. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Kerimov, Khrunov, Kirillov, Komarov, Kuznetsov, Mishin, Rudenko, Yeliseyev, Zakharov. Program: Soyuz, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1.

  Kamanin is at Tyuratam for the first Soyuz launch. He and Rudenko are accommodated in the new hotel at Area 2. It has all conveniences - a local telephone, radio and television with Moscow programs, even a promise to install an HF telephone that will allow secure communications with Moscow. Also there for the launch are Kerimov, Kirillov, Kuznetsov, Bykovsky, Komarov, Khrunov, amd Yeliseyev. Rudenko reports that he has been chewed out by Marshal Zakharov. Zakharov told him "What are you and Kamanin doing, blocking OKB-1 candidates from flight? If Mishin wants to send his people to the Moon, let him do it and do not interefere!"

• N1 facilities tour - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Kubasov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Rudenko, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.

  Rudenko and Kamanin meet with Mishin at Area 31 (18-20 kilometers east of Area 2). Launch preparations are reviewed, and Mishin satisfies them that the two Soyuz will be launched on 26-27 November. The State Commission will meet officially tomorrow at 16:00. For today, they tour the N1 horizontal assembly building at Area 13. Korolev planned the N1 as early as 1960-1961. It will have a takeoff mass of 2700-3000 tonnes and will be able to orbit 90-110 tonnes. The first stage of rocket has 30 engines, and the booster's overall height is114 m. The construction of the assembly plant, considered a branch of the Kuibyshev factory, began in 1963 but is still not finished. Two factory shops are in use, and the adjacent main assembly hall is truly impressive - more than 100 m in length, 60 m high, and 200 wide. Work on assembly of the ground test version of the rocket is underway. Assembly will be completed in 1967, and it will be used to test the systems for transport to the pad, erection of the booster, servicing, and launch preparations. The booster is to be ready for manned lunar launches in 1968. The construction site of the N1 launch pads occupies more than one square kilometre. Two pads are located 500 meter from each other. Between and around them is a mutli-storied underground city with hundreds of rooms and special equipment installations.

  Only late in the night Rudenko and Mishin finally agree that the crews for the first manned Soyuz flights will be: Basic crews: Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Yeliseyev; Back-up crews: Gagarin, Nikolayev, Gorbatko, Kubasov. Meanwhile poor weather in Moscow is delaying zero-G training for the flight. In the last week only one weightless flight on the Tu-104 was possible - and a minimum of 24 flights need to be flown before the launch. It was therefore decided to ferry one Tu-104 to Tyuratam and train the cosmonauts here - it made its first flight today.

• Soyuz first flight plan - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Feoktistov, Khrunov, Komarov, Pravetskiy, Rudenko, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.

  Feoktistov briefs the State Commission on the flight plan for the upcoming mission at 10:00. Each spacecraft will be in space for four days, and will demonstrate orbital manoeuvre, rendezvous and automatic spacecraft docking. If the passive vehicle can be placed in orbit within 20 kilometres of the previously launched active spacecraft, then docking can be accomplished on the first or second orbit of passive vehicle. If they are more than 20 kilometres apart, then 24 hours will be needed to manoeuvre the spacecraft to a rendezvous. Kamanin and Rudenko take a zero-G flight aboard the Tu-104 (Pravetskiy was bumped at the airfield "due to space limitations"). The Tu-104 needs good visibility of the horizon in order to fly the zero-G parabola. The aircraft is accelerated to maximum speed and then pulls up into a sharp climb (going from 7,000 to 10,000 m). At the end of the climb 20-25 seconds of weightlessness is available for training the cosmonauts. Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov and Yeliseyev are aboard today. Khrunov practiced moving from the BO living module of the passive vehicle to that of the active spacecraft. Yeliseyev practiced exiting and entering the BO hatches with his bulky spacesuit and 50- kilogram ECS system strapped to his leg.

  Mishin receives an encrypted telegram from Okhapkin and Tsybin. They propose that one of the cosmonauts on the first mission will back away from the docked spacecraft on a 10-m long safety line and film the other cosmonaut moving from one spacecraft to the other. Kamanin believes only Khrunov (with more than 50 Tu-104 weightless flights), has enough training to accomplish the task. After a sauna with Rudenko and an attempt to watch a film (aborted due to projector failure), Kamanin takes a walk in a drizzly, evocative night. He visits the cottages used by Korolev and the cosmonauts for the first missions. A light burns in Korolev's cottage - Mishin is working late. Kamanin recalls his many confrontations with Korolev, but also remembers how well he managed people compared to Mishin. Even if he had already decided personally what to do, he took the time to listen to other opinions and everyone felt their views had been considered.

• Soyuz crews agreed officially - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Bykovsky, Feoktistov, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Kamanin, Kerimov, Khrunov, Komarov, Kubasov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Rudenko, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-LOK, Soyuz 7K-OK.

  The weather continues to deteriorate, and Kamanin considers moving the Tu-104 and cosmonauts to Krasnovodsk in order to get the 24 necessary zero-G flights before launch. At 11:00 the State Commission meets at Area 31. Present are Kerimov, Mishin, Rudenko, Kamanin, Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Yeliseyev, Anokhin and others. Mishin describes the status of preparations of Soyuz s/n 1, 2, 3, 4 for launch. He notes that the L1 and L3 lunar spacecraft are derived from the 7K-OK, and that these flights will prove the spacecraft technology as well as the rendezvous and docking techniques necessary for subsequent manned lunar missions. Feoktistov and the OKB-1 engineers say a launch cannot occur before 15 January, but Mishin insists on 25 December. That will leave only 20 days for cosmonaut training for the mission, including the spacewalk to 10 m away from the docked spacecraft. Faced with the necessity for the crews to train together as a team prior to flight, Mishin at long last officially agrees to the crew composition for the flights: Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, and Yeliseyev as prime crews, with Gagarin, Nikolayev, Gorbatko, and Kubasov as back-ups. However a new obstacle appears. KGB Colonel Dushin reports that Yeliseyev goes by his mother's surname. His father, Stanislav Adamovich Kureytis , was a Lithuanian sentenced to five years in 1935 for anti-Soviet agitation. He currently works in Moscow as Chief of the laboratory of the Central Scientific Research Institute of the Shoe Industry. Furthermore Yeliseyev had a daughter in 1960, but subsequently annulled the marriage in 1966.

  Later Feoktistov works with the crews on spacecraft s/n 1 to determine the feasibility of the 10-m EVA. The cosmonauts suggest a telescoping pole rather than a line be used to enable the cosmonaut to be in position to film the joined spacecraft. Bushuyev is tasked with developing the new hardware.

• Apollo program delays give Soviets opportunity to leapfrog Americans - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Khrunov, Komarov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz, Voskhod. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4, Soyuz s/n 5/6, Soyuz s/n 7, Voskhod 3. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Voskhod.

  Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, and Yeliseyev have completed zero-G training in the Tu-104 at Tyuratam, and need to get back to Moscow to complete simulator training. But continued bad weather at Moscow means that they will have to be flown by Il-14 to Gorkiy, and then get to Moscow by train. Kamanin notes reports on NASA's reorganised flight program for the Apollo program. Under the new schedule, the first attempt at a manned lunar landing will be possible in the first half of 1968. The first manned flight of the Apollo CSM has slipped from December 1966 to the first quarter of 1967. This makes it possible that the Soviets can make 3 to 5 manned spaceflights before the first Apollo flight - the flights of Soyuz s/n 3 and 4 in December 1966, Voskhod 3 in January 1967, and Soyuz s/n 3 and 4 in February 1967.

• Soyuz and L1 crew assignments. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Grechko, Kerimov, Khrunov, Komarov, Kubasov, Leonov, Makarov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Rudenko, Shatalov, Volkov, Volynov, Yeliseyev, Yershov. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 2, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 3, Soyuz s/n 3/4, Soyuz s/n 5/6, Soyuz s/n 7. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK.

  Rudenko, Mishin, Kerimov and Kamanin agree on crews for upcoming flights. Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, and Yeliseyev are assigned to Soyuz s/n 3 and 4; Gagarin, Nikolayev, Gorbatko, and Kubasov to Soyuz s/n 5 and 6, with Beregovoi, Shatalov, Volkov, and Makarov trained as back-ups. For Soyuz s/n 7, which will conduct space welding experiments with the Vulkan furnace, the commander will be either Komarov, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Nikolayev, Beregovoi, or Shatalov. The other two crewmembers will be either Lankin and Fartushniy from the Paton Institute, VVS cosmonaut Kolodin, or an engineer from OKB-1.

  Crews for the L1 must be named in order to complete the five-month training program in time. Eight L1's are being completed to the manned configuration, but Mishin believes it is necessary to plan for only six manned missions. It is decided to train nine crews. Spacecraft commanders will be Komarov, Bykovsky, Nikolayev, Gagarin, Leonov, Khrunov, Volynov, Beregovoi, and Shatalov. Flight engineers will be Yeliseyev, Kubasov, Makarov, Volkov, and Grechko. Komarov, Bykovsky or Nikolayev will command the first circumlunar flight. Mishin promises to name the OKB-1 candidates for that flight by 8 December. Mishin and Kerimov agree that training of cosmonaut- researchers from the Academy of Sciences may begin, although both Mishin and Rudenko expressed doubts about cosmonaut candidate Yershov.

  The failures of Cosmos 133 have been narrowed to entangled thrust vector vanes in the main engines and a single defective approach and orientation thruster. It is agreed to set the unmanned launch of Soyuz s/n 1 for 18 December as a final functional check of all systems. If this is successful, the date will then be set for the manned launch of Soyuz s/n 3 and 4. Flight control will be conducted from Yevpatoria.

• 18 cosmonauts in lunar training - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Belousov, Bykovsky, Dobrovolsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Gubarev, Gulyayev, Khrunov, Kolesnikov, Kolodin, Komarov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Volynov, Voronov, Zholobov. Program: Lunar L1. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-LOK. Gagarin, Komarov, Nikolayev, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Voronov, Kolodin, Popovich, Gubarev, Artyukhin, Gylyayev, Belousov, Kolesnikov, Volynov, Doborvolsky, Zhobolov..

• Manned space plans reviewed - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Belyayev, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Grechko, Khrunov, Klimuk, Kolodin, Komarov, Kubasov, Leonov, Makarov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rukavishnikov, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Volkov, Volynov, Voronov, Yeliseyev. Program: Lunar L1, Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK. At a meeting of the VPK Military-Industrial Commission and Chief Designers current manned space plans are reviewed.. Additional Details: here....

• Soyuz 2A (cancelled) - . Crew: Bykovsky, Khrunov, Yeliseyev. Backup Crew: Gorbatko, Kubasov, Nikolayev. Nation: Russia. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.

  The first manned Soyuz flights were an attempt at an 'all up' manned rendezvous, docking, and crew transfer spectacular (eventually accomplished by Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5). Komarov was the pilot for the Soyuz 1 active spacecraft, which would be launched first. Soyuz 2, with the crew of Bykovsky, Khrunov, and Yeliseyev would launch the following day, with Khrunov and Yeliseyev space-walking to Soyuz 1 and returning to earth with Komarov. Komarov's spacecraft developed serious problems after launch, including the failure of one of the spacecraft's solar panels to deploy. The Soyuz 2 crew were given the order to rendezvous with Soyuz 1 and to try during the planned EVA to unfold the undeployed solar panel. But the launch of Soyuz 2 was cancelled due to heavy rain at the cosmodrome. Low on power and battery reserves, Komarov made an attempt to land the following day. Parachute failure led to the crash of Soyuz 1 and the death of Komarov. After the disaster the Soyuz 2 spacecraft was checked, and the parachute system had the same technical failure. If Soyuz 2 had launched, the docking may have been successful, but then both spacecraft would have crashed on landing, killing four cosmonauts instead of one.

• Manned spacecraft trainer status - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Feoktistov, Nikolayev. Program: Lunar L3, Lunar L1, Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-LOK, Soyuz 7K-OK. The Volga and Soyuz trainers are to be finally operational on 10 and 20 August respectively. The L1 trainer is not progressing and the L3 trainer exists only on paper.. Additional Details: here....

• Meeting on crew selections for the L3 program. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Kubasov, Kuznetsov, Nikolai F, Leonov, Makarov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rukavishnikov, Voronov. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  Attending are Kuznetsov, Gagarin, Khlebnikov. There are three training groups: Soyuz, L1, and L3. Mishin and the MOM are holding up further training of cosmonauts until the VVS agrees to accept Mishin's candidates from TsKBEM. In any case, Mishin's attitude is that 'automation in space is everything. Humans in space are only supposed to monitor the operation of automated systems'. L3 cosmonauts selected by the VVS are: Leonov, Bykovsky, Nikolayev, Popovich, Voronov, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Artyukhin, Kubasov, Makarov, and Rukavishnikov. The official requirements: balanced composition of a crew according to mass requirements (no more than 70 kg weight per cosmonaut), and the ability to monitor fully automated function of the L3. According to official documents, the crew's primary function is to guide the flight, but now Mishin intends that their primary role will be as subjects of psychological and physical observations to establish the adaptation of the human organism to space flight).

• L1 commander assignments agreed. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Feoktistov, Leonov, Mishin, Popovich, Voloshin. Program: Lunar L1, Soyuz.

  The final medical report rejects Feoktistov's fitness to be a cosmonaut. Mishin accepts the findings of the report, but in classic manner ignores it and advocates Feoktistov be appointed as commander of the active spacecraft in the first Soyuz docking mission after return to flight. Kamanin is livid. Feoktistov has had years of training for EVA, but he has not had one day of training as a spacecraft commander, and now he wants him to command a mission due to launch in only two to three months! However agreement is finally reached on L1 commander assignments: Leonov, Bykovskiy, Popovich, Voloshin. Agreement is not reached on the second (civilian) crew member position for the flights. According to Mishin, the Soyuz and L1 flights planned from March 1 to the end of 1968 will require 16 to 18 crew members total.

• Cosmonaut jet trainers. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Bykovsky, Kuznetsov, Nikolai F, Leonov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov.

  Holidays - in the first ten days of May, the civilians work only two days, while the military must work four. Kamanin assigns cosmonauts to the State Commission that will select the design for the Gagarin memorial obelisk. He then reviews cosmonaut pilot aircraft type qualifications. Titov is current on the Su-7, MiG-21, and several other high-performance aircraft. Nikolayev and Leonov are still certified to fly two or three MiG fighter types. Belyayev, Bykovsky, Popovich, Kutachov, and the others are only current on the L-29 trainer. The L-29 is 20 times more reliable than the MiG-21 or Su-7, and the MiG-15 trainer is 4x to 5x more reliable than the high performance types. In general the cosmonauts are against plans to move the air regiment to TsPK from Chkalovsky air field due to greater air space restrictions over Moscow.

• VPK confirms Soyuz flight plans. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Bykovsky, Kuznetsov, Nikolai F, Leonov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.

  The VPK confirms the Soyuz flight plan - a 0+1 mission to be followed by a 1+3 mission with crew transfer. Chiefs of the cosmonaut detachments are confirmed and announced. Nikolayev will be Deputy Chief of TsPK; Bykovsky, Commander of the First Detachment of Cosmonauts; Titov, Commander of the Second Detachment, and Popovich, Deputy Commander of the Second Detachment. Kuznetsov, Belyayev, and Leonov are not happy with these appointments. The General Staff also approves creation of a fourth training detachment at TsPK, charged with flight, engineering, and experiment development - requiring an additional 200 staff.

• L1 lunar crew selections - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Leonov, Makarov, Mishin, Popovich, Rukavishnikov, Voronov. Program: Lunar L1, Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK.

  Meeting of VVS, Mishin, and other designers at Fedosiya to review trials of the improved Soyuz parachute system. The Soyuz is cleared for manned flights. Mishin tells Leonov he will not support him in his bid to make the first lunar flight. Kamanin tells Leonov that of the three crews - Leonov-Voronov, Bykovsky-Rukavishnikov, Popovich-Makarov - the Bykovsky crew is favoured.

• Cosmonaut exams are held for Beregovoi, Shatalov, and Volynov. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Klimuk, Kuklin, Leonov, Makarov, Popovich, Rukavishnikov, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Voloshin, Volynov. Program: Soyuz, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz 3, Soyuz 4, Soyuz 5, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 2, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 3. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK.

  The results will establish the order in which they will fly as Soyuz commanders. A 25-person board, consisting of spacecraft designers and cosmonauts, conduct the oral examinations. Each cosmonaut must answer five mandatory essay questions and select two two-part questions. All three are certified for flight and have a complete mastery of the Soyuz systems.

  Mishin and Kamanin meet and decide on L1 crews: Leonov-Makarov (with Kuklin as back-up); Bykovsky-Rukavishnikov (Klimuk back-up); and Popovich-Sevastyanov (Voloshin back-up). But that evening Leonov has yet another automobile accident. He hit a bus with his Volga at kilometre 24 near Shchelkovsky. This was his second accident in four months. Kamanin decides to prohibit him from driving automobiles for six months.

• Cosmonauts graduate. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Kuznetsova, Leonov, Nikolayev, Ponomaryova, Popovich, Shonin, Solovyova, Tereshkova, Titov, Volynov, Yerkina, Zaikin.

  Nikolayev, Leonov, Popovich, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Zaikin, Volynov, and Shonin all receive their diplomas from the Zhukovskiy Test Pilot Engineering Academy. Khrunov graduates with honours. All of them began training for a lunar landing on January 8. Titov and Gagarin will complete their studies for the diploma in May. Ponomareva and Solovyova willl graduate in the second half of 1968, leaving only Tereshkova, Kuznetsova, and Yerkina. Tereshkova has had her appendix removed in surgery at the Vishevskiy Centre. The surgery went well.

• Kamanin meets with Vershinin. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Leonov, Mishin, Vershinin, Volynov. Program: Lunar L1, Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 4/5, Soyuz 5. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK, Spiral OS.

  Plans for purchase of ten Soyuz spacecraft for the VVS are discussed. They next turn to Volynov's problems during the Soyuz 5 re-entry. The fault can be attributed entirely to the modular design of the spacecraft, requiring that two modules be jettisoned before re-entry. Vershinin declares that what was needed was a true KLA space flight craft, which would be winged, set toward orbit by aircraft-type booster stages, and could be recovered at a conventional air base borne on wings or rotor blades. Additional Details: here....

• Soyuz plans - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Leonov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Shatalov, Titov, Tregub. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 6, Soyuz 7, Soyuz 8, Soyuz s/n 15+16, Soyuz sn 14. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.

  Meeting with TsKBEM Deputy Chief Designer Tregub on manned space flight plans. Soyuz s/n 14 is set for a solo seven day mission in April-May. 15 and 16 with 5 cosmonauts aboard will fly a 7 day mission in August-September, remaining docked for three days. Soyuz s/n 17 through 20 will not fly until after May 1970 - there are no definite plans for them at this time. Additional Details: here....

• Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 2 (cancelled) - . Crew: Bykovsky, Rukavishnikov. Backup Crew: Klimuk. Nation: Russia. Program: Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 2. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1. Planned second Soviet circumlunar flight. Cancelled after the success of the American Apollo 8..

• Mishin and Kamanin select candidates for the lunar landing mission. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Leonov, Makarov, Mishin, Patsayev, Rukavishnikov, Voronov, Yeliseyev. Program: Lunar L3.

  They are Leonov, Bykovsky, Voronov, Khrunov, Yeliseyev, Makarov, Rukavishnikov, and Patsayev. Mishin expects a landing by the end of 1970; Kamanin thinks this is impossible. Afanasyev and Mishin propose modernisation of the N1, but this will take three to four years, by which time the booster will be essentially obsolete. The second launch of the N1 is set for 3 July. It would be a welcome miracle if it flew, but it still would not be enough to erase the American lead in the moon race.

• Soviet leadership interest in manned spaceflight has collapsed. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Brezhnev, Bykovsky, Chelomei, Mishin, Popovich. Program: Salyut, Almaz, Skylab. Spacecraft: Almaz OPS, Salyut 1, Soyuz 7K-S.

  Kamanin notes that interest of the leadership in manned spaceflight has collapsed with the end of the moon race. Brezhnev has declared that his primary interest is in earth orbital space stations. Both Mishin and Chelomei have stations in development, but the work is progressing slowly. There will be no launch of either of their projects until 1972 - which means the Soviets will be beaten by the US Skylab. Kamanin believes the Americans can never be beaten in space unless all space projects are guided firmly by a single Ministry of Defence and Civilian Space office. Meanwhile the Hong Kong flu epidemic is hitting many at the cosmodrome - Moroz, Popovich, and Bykovsky are all seriously ill.

• Soyuz 9 Day 11 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gorbatko, Nikolayev, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz, Salyut. Flight: Soyuz 9. Spacecraft Bus: Almaz. Spacecraft: Salyut 1.

  Things are proceeding normally aboard Soyuz 9. Shatalov and Yeliseyev prepare to depart for the Crimea to train for use of the big solar and stellar telescopes planned for the DOS station. The 15-20 day course will be attended by all 12 DOS cosmonauts. The training plan for DOS is discussed, with a May 1971 flight date as the objective. Kamanin discusses smoking with Bykovsky and Gorbatko - they have to stop.

• Cosmonaut training plans. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bogomolov, Bykovsky, Mishin, Popovich. Program: Salyut, Almaz, Lunar L3. Spacecraft: Almaz OPS, Soyuz Kontakt, Spiral OS.

  The training plan for DOS#1 is reviewed. The station is to be launched by February 1971. Soyuz 10 and Soyuz 11 will dock with it and crew the station for two to three months, according to Mishin's plan. This however will slow down flight test of Bogomolov's Kontakt docking system for the L3. This was to have been ready by January 1970, but it is still not ready for flight. On the other hand, the completion of the DOS station within four to five months is not possible. There are currently 12 cosmonauts in training for DOS, and ten for Soyuz flights. Popovich heads a group of 22 cosmonauts training for Almaz; and Bykovsky heads a group on lunar issues. The new trainers and simulators are on schedule; the existing ones are being heavily used.

• Soyuz Kontakt and DOS-2 crew assignments made. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Artyukhin, Bykovsky, Filipchenko, Gorbatko, Grechko, Gubarev, Isakov, Klimuk, Kolodin, Kovalyonok, Lazarev, Leonov, Makarov, Porvatkin, Rukavishnikov, Sevastyanov, Shcheglov, Vorobyov, Voronov, Yakovlev, Yazdovsky. Program: Salyut, Lunar L3. Flight: DOS 2-1, DOS 2-2, DOS 2-3, DOS 2-4, Soyuz 11, Soyuz 12 / DOS 1, Soyuz sn 18, Soyuz sn 19, Soyuz sn 20, Soyuz sn 21, Soyuz sn 22, Soyuz sn 23. Spacecraft: Salyut 1, Soyuz Kontakt.

  Crews are formed for six Soyuz (Kontakt?) flights. Soyuz s/n 18 - Filipchenko and Grechko; Soyuz s/n 19 - Lazarev and Makarov; Soyuz s/n 20 - Vorobyov and Yazdovsky; Soyuz s/n 21 - Yakovlelv and Porvatkin; Soyuz s/n 22 - Kovalyonok and Isakov; Soyuz s/n 23 - Shcheglov and [illegible]. Five crews are training for Salyut flights: Crew 1, Leonov, Rukavishnikov, and Kolodin; Crew 2, Gubarev, Sevastyanov, and Voronov. TsKBEM engineer cosmonauts are to be selected will round out the last three crews, but VVS members will be: Crew 3, Klimuk, Artyukhin; Crew 4, Bykovskyy, Alekseyev; Crew 5, Gorbatko. Leonov and Gubarev will have their crews fully ready for Soyuz 12 by 30 June, for a launch date between 15-20 July. Leonov is asking to go to East Germany for two to three days in the first week of July. Kamanin is fully opposed to this - he is thinkng not of his upcoming flight, but the exhibition of his paintings at the Prezdensk Gallery!

• Soyuz 11 Day 11 - fire aboard the station. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Chelomei, Dobrovolsky, Khrunov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Patsayev, Popovich, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Volkov, Volynov. Program: Salyut, Almaz. Flight: Soyuz 11. Spacecraft: Almaz OPS, Salyut 1, Soyuz 7KT-OK, Soyuz OB-VI, Soyuz VI.

  Kamanin is to fly back to Yevpatoriya in the afternoon. Chelomei is often ill lately -- Mishin is using the opportunity to lobby Ustinov and Smirnov to kill Almaz, and increase the DOS-7K order from four to ten. Mishin killed Kozlov's Soyuz VI in a similar manner. Prior to his departure, the cosmonauts brief Kamanin on the results of the visits of Popovich and Sevastyanov to France, and Khrunov to the USA. Kamanin is having trouble with the leadership in allowing Volynov to be assigned to another crew.

  As Kamanin is on the way to the airport, a serious situation develops aboard the station. At 13:00 the cosmonauts report a strong burning smell, and smoke in the station. The crew evacuates the station and retreat to the Soyuz lifeboat. Forty minutes later, just as Kamanin is boarding the Tu-104, Shatalov reports that the mission will continue, but the situation aboard the station is not comfortable. The crew has turned off the primary oxygen regenerator and exchanged the filters of the oxygen supply and reserve regenerator. At 14:05 Kamanin finally boards the aircraft, which takes off and sets course for the Crimea. At 14:30 they are ordered to turn around and land at Chkalovksy Airfield outside Moscow. The whole thing turns out to be a banal mistake by one of the officers at an air traffic control station! They lose two hours in the process. No information is available when the Tu-104 finally lands at Saki, since Nikolayev and the other cosmonauts who attended the emergency meetings had taken off to return to Moscow three hours earlier. Kamanin finally arrives at Yevpatoriya at 23:00, in time for a comms session with Dobrovolsky and Patsayev (Volkov is sleeping). The Soyuz 11 crew reports that the training suits are very tiring. Dobrovolsky reports all is now normal otherwise. He requests permission to continue the flight. Bykovsky reports that the situation on the station is now stable. There is no more smoke or burning smell, but the crew has been overloaded in the last six hours. They have done a lot of work with no food or rest. The situation was so bad at one point that preparations had been made for undocking the Soyuz for an emergency return to earth.

• Soyuz 22 - . Call Sign: Yastreb (Hawk ). Crew: Aksyonov, Bykovsky. Backup Crew: Malyshev, Strekalov. Support Crew: Andreyev, Popov. Payload: Soyuz ASTP s/n 74 modified with MF6 camera. Mass: 6,510 kg (14,350 lb). Nation: Russia. Agency: MOM. Program: ASTP. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Soyuz 22. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-MF6. Duration: 7.91 days. Decay Date: 1976-09-23 . USAF Sat Cat: 9421 . COSPAR: 1976-093A. Apogee: 296 km (183 mi). Perigee: 185 km (114 mi). Inclination: 64.80 deg. Period: 89.30 min.

  Surplus Soyuz ASTP spacecraft modified with a multi-spectral camera manufactured by Carl Zeiss-Jena in place of the universal docking apparatus. Eight days were spent photographing the earth. Tested and perfected scientific-technical methods and devices for studying the geological characteristics of the earth's surface from outer space for economic purposes.

• Landing of Soyuz 22 - . Return Crew: Aksyonov, Bykovsky. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Aksyonov, Bykovsky. Program: ASTP. Flight: Soyuz 22. Soyuz 22 landed at 7:42 GMT, 150 km NW of Tselinograd..

• Soyuz 31 - . Call Sign: Yastreb (Hawk ). Crew: Bykovsky, Jaehn. Backup Crew: Gorbatko, Koellner. Payload: Soyuz 7K-T s/n 47. Mass: 6,800 kg (14,900 lb). Nation: Russia. Agency: MOM. Program: Salyut 6. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Soyuz 29, Soyuz 31. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-T. Duration: 67.84 days. Decay Date: 1978-11-02 . USAF Sat Cat: 11010 . COSPAR: 1978-081A. Apogee: 243 km (150 mi). Perigee: 193 km (119 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 88.80 min. Manned two crew. Docked with Salyut 6. Delivered to the Salyut-6 station the third international 'Intercosmos' crew consisting of V F Bykovsky (USSR) and S Jaehn (German Democratic Republic) to carry out scientific research and experiments..

• Landing of Soyuz 29 - . Return Crew: Bykovsky, Jaehn. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Jaehn. Program: Salyut 6. Flight: Soyuz 29, Soyuz 31. Soyuz 29 landed at 11:40 GMT with the crew of Bykovsky and Jaehn aboard..

• Soyuz 37 - . Call Sign: Terek (Terek - river in the Caucasus). Crew: Gorbatko, Tuan. Backup Crew: Bykovsky, Liem. Payload: Soyuz 7K-T s/n 53. Mass: 6,800 kg (14,900 lb). Nation: Russia. Agency: MOM. Program: Salyut 6. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Soyuz 35, Soyuz 37. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-T. Duration: 79.64 days. Decay Date: 1980-10-11 . USAF Sat Cat: 11905 . COSPAR: 1980-064A. Apogee: 273 km (169 mi). Perigee: 190 km (110 mi). Inclination: 51.50 deg. Period: 89.10 min.

  Manned two crew. Transported to the Salyut-6 station the sixth international crew under the Intercosmos programme, comprising V V Gorbatko (USSR) and Pham Tuan (Viet Nam), to conduct scientific research and experiments. Returned crew of Soyuz 35 to Earth. Recovered October 11, 1980 9:50 GMT.