Vladimir Komarov
Man Who Fell From Space
During the Cold War era, a fierce competition known as the Space Race was ongoing between Russia and the USA. Both superpowers were trying to be the first to go into space.
In 1961, the Russian space organization Roscosmos achieved a historic milestone by launching Vostok-1 and sending cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space. Ultimately, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space.
During the ongoing space race and several victories, we lost a gem, Vladimir Komarov, and had forgotten about it.
You have to be willing to lose something in order to gain something.
He knew he was going to die. He knew he wasn’t going to make it into space, but he still decided to go. Even before going, Vladimir Komarov asked his friend Yuri not to put his body in a casket if he died, as he knew he might not survive.
Why did he decide to go to a mission about which he knew he would never return?
Let’s delve right into it.
Vladimir Komarov-First Human To Die In Space
Vladimir Komarov initially belonged to a humble family; his father was a laborer, and he had to engage in farming to support his family financially.
Early Life:
Despite his family’s modest circumstances, he had remarkable skills in various areas. And these skills led to his selection to serve in the Soviet Air Force, where he underwent training to become a pilot and later, a test pilot.
After, Vladimir Komarov received training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in preparation for his early human space missions.
Voskhod 1:
Voskhod 1 was a one-day Soviet space mission, launched in 1964. It was the first crewed mission with three cosmonauts on board.
In 1964, Vladimir Komarov became the pilot of his first spaceflight, Voskhod 1. This mission was also the first to include a spacewalk, and the spacecraft orbited the Earth 16 times before safely returning to Earth. (too many ‘first’ right?)
Soyuz 1-Deadly Space Mission
Vladimir Komarov was selected as the solo pilot for Soyuz 1, but it was far from a simple mission. Unfortunately, Soyuz 1 was the second and final mission of Vladimir.
The mission was originally scheduled for one day and had a single crew member. Yuri Gagarin, who was also a close friend of Komarov, was selected as a backup crew member, which meant he would go only if Vladimir refused or couldn’t go for some reason.
The Rushed Launch Of Soyuz 1:
It was widely known that the Soyuz 1 spacecraft was not fully ready for spaceflight. The Soviet government was determined to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution with a successful space mission. Soyuz 1 was intended to be part of this celebration, and there was immense political pressure to ensure the mission's success.
Komarov couldn’t refuse, possibly due to pressure from higher authorities or, according to some theories, because of his friendship with Yuri. If he had refused, Yuri would have gone in his place, so he decided to go instead.
Devastating Consequences Of A Hasty Decision:
Unfortunately, the decision to launch Soyuz 1 hastily had tragic consequences .Shortly after Soyuz 1 launched, a series of problems began to arise.
- First, one of the two solar panels failed to unfold, resulting in a power shortage on the spacecraft. The difficulties with solar panel deployment severely affected the spacecraft’s functionality.
- Later, its stabilizing system began to experience issues, and the automatic system became completely nonfunctional, leaving only the manual stabilizing system partially operational.
- Additionally, its environmental control system malfunctioned, leading to unusual temperature and air supply conditions in the cabin.
- Furthermore, communication problems arose, making it difficult for our solo pilot to relay critical information to mission control on the ground.
Soyuz 2 To The Rescue:
When Vladimir reported these issues to mission control, the crew of SoyuzII were instructed to prepare for a spacewalk to attempt to unfold the panels of Soyuz 1. Vladimir was told to abort the mission as well and return to Earth, with Soyuz II intended to assist in his return.
Abort:
Unfortunately, due to heavy thunderstorms and adverse weather conditions, the flight director decided to abort the rescue mission. Subsequently, Vladimir found himself alone in space.
As he was instructed to abort the mission and return to Earth, after completing 18 orbits, he re-entered Earth’s atmosphere.
Parachute Failure:
To slow the descent, he deployed the drogue parachute followed by the main parachute. Tragedy struck when the main parachute failed to unfold due to a malfunction.
In response, he decided to deploy the manual parachute. However, as he attempted to deploy the manual chute, it became entangled with the drogue parachute and didn’t unfold as well.
The words below are one of the versions of his alleged last communication.
Fools, you have put me in botched craft.
Control, I lost control of the craft.
I can’t hear you!
For the sake of my life, speak up you fool.
However, the other versions about his last words suggests that he said, “I’m burning up.”
The accuracy and authenticity of both versions is uncertain, due to lack of definitive records.
Finding Burnt Module:
Parachute deployment failure resulted in the descent module falling to Earth with Vladimir trapped inside. A rescue helicopter spotted the descent module with the parachute spread across the ground, and it was on fire.
By the time the helicopter landed, the descent module was engulfed in flames, and black smoke filled the air.
Komarov’s Remains:
It became evident that Vladimir Komarov had not survived the crash. Rescuers found him still strapped into the chair inside the module, and his body had been severely burned.
Doctors and medical personnel conducted an examination of Komarov’s remains. Upon examination by doctors, it was determined that his death resulted from blunt-force injuries and high temperature.
Improvements:
The crash of Soyuz 1 led to a thorough investigation to understand the technical failures and issues that had caused the mission’s tragic outcome. This investigation contributed to improvements in spacecraft design and safety measures.
- Improvements were made to the control systems and electrical systems.
- The Soyuz spacecraft underwent design modifications to enhance its safety.
- The parachute deployment systems were redesigned and tested multiple times to prevent failures during re-entry.
- Communication systems between spacecraft and mission control were improved to ensure better communication
- Other upgrades were implemented as well to further enhance its safety.
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