Vladimir Komarov, a former Soviet astronaut, tried to come back to Earth on April 24, 1967, after a mission aboard the Soyuz I spacecraft. However, his parachute did not open. Vladimir Komarov was a legendary Soviet cosmonaut. But he would be best known for his death — as the “man who fell from space.” Komarov was selected for an iconic space mission in 1967 as the Communist Revolution’s 50th anniversary approached. But, sadly, it meant death. But we do know this: Komarov’s spacecraft made numerous orbits around the Earth, he battled to return the atmosphere once he was finished, and he ended up falling to the ground, facing death in a horrible blast. And Vladimir Komarov, the man who fell from space, was lowered to a burnt, infrequent “lump” when he arrived on Earth.
While much is unknown about the events that led up to his death, there is no doubt that his story perfectly demonstrates the craziness of the Cold War space race — and the price that the Soviet Union compensated for growth. Let’s know more about The Man Who Fell From Space: Vladimir Komarov.
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Vladimir Komarov’s Cosmonaut Career
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov was a young child with devotion to flight long before he dreamed of becoming a Soviet cosmonaut. Komarov, who was born on March 16, 1927, in Moscow, took an early interest in aviation and airplanes. Komarov entered the Soviet air force at the age of 15. He was a pilot by 1949. Komarov met his wife, Valentina Yakovlevna Kiselyova, about the same time and cheered on his marriage — and his romance of flying. “Whoever has flown once and flown an airplane will never wish to side with either an aircraft or the sky,” he once said.
Komarov kept climbing the mighty ladder. He did graduate from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy in 1959. Soon after, he expressed a desire to become a cosmonaut. He was one of only 18 men selected to train in this field at the moment.
Komarov made history in 1964 when he skillfully piloted Voskhod 1, the first spacecraft to carry more than one individual into space. While Komarov was not the first man in space (that honor went to his friend Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin), there is no doubt that he was highly regarded for his talent and abilities. As the Communist Revolution’s 50th anniversary arrived, the Soviet Union decided to do something special in 1967. And Komarov appeared to be the ideal man for the job.
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The Astronaut Who Fell From Space
The project’s basis was ambitious: two space pods would cross paths in low-earth orbit, and Komarov would park one close to the other. He’d then spacewalk between the two ships. This is when the story becomes unclear. According to Starman, a debatable 2011 book with numerous errors, Komarov’s spacecraft Soyuz 1 had “203 structural flaws,” which became apparent before the flight. (There’s no doubt that the craft had problems, but it’s unknown how many of them were discovered early on.) Gagarin, as Komarov’s backup pilot, allegedly made the argument for the mission to be delayed. He went on to write a 10-page report and handed it to Venyamin Russayev, a KGB friend. However, this report was neglected. Even so, it has yet to be proven that this “report” existed. If it did, no tales or official accounts mentioned it.
In any case, as the launch date nears, it appeared that cancellation was the final thing on any high-ranking Soviet official’s mind. “The [Soviet] designers were under huge political pressure to create a new space remarkable,” Francis French stated in In the Shadow of the Moon. “Soyuz was really being quickly moved into offering before all of the issues were resolved.”
The Day
Komarov launched his poorly space mission on April 23, 1967. He was able to circle the Earth 16 times in a 24-hour period. However, he could not complete his project’s primary objective. This was due to one of his 2 solar panels, which provided energy for the maneuver, failing to release. The Soviets reportedly canceled the second capsule’s launch and then commanded Komarov to return to Earth. But Komarov had no idea that atmospheric entry would be fatal. Even with his skill, Komarov had a hard time controlling his spacecraft, and it seems he had struggles shooting his rocket brakes.
It took him two more trips around the world to be ready to re-enter. Unfortunately, when he obtained an altitude of 23,000 feet, his parachute, which was meant to release, did not. The chute’s lines had become tangled during Komarov’s reentry difficulties; it turned out. As a result, on April 24, 1967, Komarov fell to the earth and died in a horrific blast, becoming the first recognized man to die in spaceflight. His final minutes are among the most mythologized.
Final Moments
According to Starman, Komarov died enraged, exclaiming, “This devil ship! Nothing I’ve tried works correctly.” And according to the book, he even cursed the authorities who put him on such a “mishandled spaceship” in the first place. Meanwhile, many experts, including space historian Robert Pearlman, are suspicious. “I just don’t think that’s convincing,” Pearlman” says.. Komarov, whose burned is still strongly resembled an infrequent “lump,” was the true answer. Only his heel bone was visible, as per reports.
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