You probably know the story of Yuri Gagarin, who became the first man in space on April 12, 1961. Although he never flew again, Gagarin’s career in the Soviet space program did not end after this success. In 1967, he was summoned by his colleague and friend Vladimir Komarov for a flight where he would become a backup cosmonaut in case any of the crew was unable to fly.
The Soviet Union was about to celebrate its 50th anniversary, and a simple event would not be enough to celebrate it. They would have to risk the lives of several cosmonauts unnecessarily.
The plan was to send two spacecraft into orbit. First, Soyuz 1 carrying Komarov would be launched and a day would be expected for the arrival of Soyuz 2. The spacecraft would then rendezvous, and Komarov would go on a spacewalk from his own vehicle to Soyuz 2. The two cosmonauts on Soyuz 2 would both enter Soyuz 1 before departing for Earth.
However, months before the planned launch, there were signs that this was not going to go well. When the spacecraft was examined, it was noticed that there were more than 200 structural problems. A 10-page report was created listing the faults. But no one had the courage to take the report to leader Leonid Brezhnev. Because this task was very important for Brezhnev and it was very difficult to say that it could not be realized, given the conditions of the time.
Gagarin’s friend in the KGB, who is known to have submitted the report, was also prohibited by the KGB from speaking to anyone affiliated with the space program. So the report sort of “disappeared.” In this situation, the cosmonauts had no choice but to embark on this journey, which seemed like a sure ticket to death.
Komarov’s friends tried to persuade him to give up, thinking that the consequences of refusal would be less severe than certain death. However, Komarov knew that if he withdrew, they would send his friend Gagarin. For Gagarin was not one to refuse the job either. Komarov refused to step down, knowing it could mean his death.
Instead, Komarov planned a small act of revenge on the people who sent him to his death. Rumor has it that if something goes wrong, he willed to have his coffin open at the funeral.
On launch day, Gagarin, not following usual protocol, requested a pressure suit test before landing on the launch pad to talk to Komarov. He may have tried to delay the launch enough to cancel it, but if that was his plan, it didn’t work. Komarov was launched and went into space inside the spacecraft. Once it got there, however, one of the solar panels did not turn on, things quickly went wrong, causing the car to have very little power.
The space agency ordered him an emergency landing, but it was too late. The capsule began to spin uncontrollably. There was no way to control the descent.
And so the Soviet Union had to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a funeral. And by displaying the charred corpse for all to see. Vladimir Komarov, on the other hand, was officially recorded as the first person to die on a space mission. According to unofficial belief, he was the first person to agree to go into space knowing he was going to die.
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