The Space Race between the USA and the USSR has seen its fair share of tensions, victories, and casualties. The USSR became the first nation to triumphantly launch a man, Yuri Gagarin, in space, but the first death in a space mission also goes on the Soviet’s account. Vladimir Komarov, a talented pilot, a friend, and a family man, is also the first astronaut died in space mission. His career, life, and the fatal accident that caused Komarov’s death are still subject to discussion and speculation, especially considering his close friendship with Gagarin. But let’s start from the very beginning.
Komarov Early Life & Cosmonaut Cops Career
The first astronaut to die in space was born on March 16, 1927, and was fascinated with the sky from boyhood. He got admitted to the Air Force school at the age of 15, and by 1949, he was already piloting aircraft. Ten years later, in 1959, he was invited to join the secret Cosmonaut program.
Even though Komarov was five years too old to make a cosmonaut candidate, his outstanding piloting skills earned the first astronaut who died in space his well-deserved spot in the Corps. In October 1964, he piloted the Voskhod 1 spacecraft — the first Soviet ship that could carry more than one person. The mission was an astounding success, and all three crew members made it back safe and sound. So, when the time came to test yet another spacecraft, Soyuz, Komarov was the obvious choice.
What caused the death of Vladimir Komarov?
Soyuz was supposed to be another triumph for the USSR. Still, on the eve of yet another anniversary of the October Communist revolution, the Soyuz 1 mission was rushed way too much. All three unmanned test vehicles crashed, and yet the command centre decided to carry on with the manned mission. The plan was to launch Komarov’s spacecraft first and two more cosmonauts on another ship — the day after. Both vehicles were supposed to dock in orbit; the cosmonaut would have to transition to another ship and pilot it back to Earth.
However, as Soyuz 1 launched and reached orbit, the problem occurred. One of the solar panels failed to open. The pilot tried to re-orient the ship so that the second panel would face the sun, but even that did not help. Orbital Today mentions it became clear that the power generated by one panel would not suffice, so the mission had to be aborted.
There are various explanations behind the accident, but one thing is established for sure — Soyuz 1 deorbited successfully, but by the time the capsule was supposed to fire a landing chute, the whole parachute system got tangled. The vehicle crashed to the ground at 50 m/s speed. So, how far did Komarov fall? At least 23,000 feet (7 km) — that is the altitude at which the chute was supposed to open.
Further Investigation & Speculation
The impact of the crash and the fire that instantly followed made Vladimir Komarov’s autopsy impossible — the body was charred, with only one heel bone more or less intact. The vehicle was in no better condition, so it was hard to investigate the technical malfunctions that led to this tragedy.
And even though Vladimir Komarov’s cause of death was obvious — the astronaut was killed in the crash, even today, there is a lot of contradiction as to Vladimir Komarov last words and actions.
According to the official log, the pilot said that everything was in order and thanked the ground team for their support. According to the book Starman, published in 2011, the pilot was crying and cursing the command for killing him in the untested spacecraft. However, the book by Piers Bizony and Jamie Doran, supposedly based on witnesses’ accounts, was faced with many harsh critiques for lack of evidence.
What did Vladimir Komarov say before he died? That is something we will never find out, but one thing is almost certain — it is very unlikely that a trained pilot who knew he was going on a spacecraft testing mission did not understand the dangers involved. Komarov was the first astronaut who died in a space mission, but the peril of early spaceflight was obvious to everyone.
Did Vladimir Komarov save Yuri Gagarin?
Another cause of speculation until today — Komarov and Gagarin were friends, and Gagarin was the second replacement pilot on the Soyuz mission. There have been rumours that Komarov did not want to pilot such a faulty, untested spacecraft but agreed to go, knowing that if he refused, his friend Gagarin would be sent instead.
Still, many question this theory. By 1967, Gagarin was already a national hero, which probably means he was the second pilot only on paper. The USSR would keep guarding his success and would not send him on new space missions. In any case, Gagarin died a year later — crashed while testing experimental aircraft. And Vladimir Komarov, the first astronaut who died in a space mission, was entombed in the Kremlin and commemorated on the Moon plaque when the first Apollo astronauts finally got there.