More Details for 1969-01-31
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
Kamanin meets with Vershinin.
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.
Kamanin then goes to the Gagarin Centre for a series of meetings to define concrete proposals for future Soyuz flights. He becomes very upset when discussing the cover-up of the L1 programme with Mishin. This was followed by a meeting of the Central Soviet of the Cosmonauts. Leonov and Bykovskiy make several proposals for new missions. Bykovskiy is especially critical of lack of action by the VVS in standing up for the cosmonaut's views. But Kamanin knows Bykovskiy, being unaware of all of the secret decrees and initiatives of the Ministry of Defence, is mistaken.