April 23, 1967
Launched into space Soyuz-1 — the first Soviet manned spacecraft of this series. Its only pilot Vladimir Komarov died the following day during landing - the first human death during space flight.
The first manned spacecraft was prepared by Soviet specialists in a hurry: by that time, the US had already completed 10 such flights.
203 design faults in the spacecraft, which the engineers had pointed out, did not prevent the launch: Soyuz-1 was launched into space under the piloting of 40-year-old Vladimir Komarov, who had a reputation as an experienced pilot and had already been in space (in 1964 he flew as commander of the world's first crew in space). Voskhod-1).
Liftoff from the launch pad was recorded at 0:35 Moscow time. Problems began immediately after orbital entry: one of the two solar panels failed to deploy, resulting in a power shortage.
Ultimately, the flight had to be terminated early. Back on Earth, they quickly developed a plan to deorbit the Soyuz using manual control. I personally explained this idea to Komarov. Yuri Gagarin by radio (he was his backup during preparations for the flight).
The spacecraft successfully deorbited on the night of April 23–24, spending just over 24 hours in space. During landing, at an altitude of 7 km and a speed of 800 km/h, its parachute system failed: first, the main parachute failed to deploy, and then, at an altitude of 1,5 km, the lines of the reserve parachute became entangled.
Soyuz-1 fell under Orsk: It hit the ground at 140 km/h and exploded. Vladimir Komarov died instantly.
He became the first Soviet cosmonaut to travel into space twice, and the first cosmonaut in the world to die in space.
Why the main parachute failed to deploy remains unknown. One theory suggests that assembly error could have been the cause: the parachute containers were sealed with the wrong materials, causing the parachute to stick to the tray walls. Another theory suggests that the tray walls were deformed due to pressure changes.
Gagarin: Rubin, this is Zarya-10. I'm calling you. How are you feeling?
Komarov: I feel great. Everything is fine.
Gagarin: Here, the comrades recommend breathing deeply. We'll be waiting for you upon landing.
Komarov: Thank you. Tell everyone. Something happened once… [most likely referring to the separation of the ship's compartments; the Soyuz was entering the dense layers of the atmosphere].
Gagarin: Rubin, this is Zarya. We can't hear you. Can you hear us? Over.
(negotiations a few minutes before the tragedy)
Due to the accident on Soyuz-1, the launch of the twin spacecraft Soyuz-2 was cancelled. A docking was planned between them, during which, for the first time in human history, an astronaut who had launched on one spacecraft would return to Earth on another.
As a result of the investigation, not only the parachute system but the entire design of the ship was modified.
After the disaster, there were no manned flights in the country for another year and a half.
