Soyuz 1

Lore & Background

Soyuz 1 was launched on 23 April 1967 at 00:32 GMT from Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying Vladimir Komarov, the first Soviet cosmonaut to fly in space twice. The original mission plan involved a rendezvous with Soyuz 2 and an exchange of crew members, but the launch of Soyuz 2 was called off due to thunderstorms. Problems began shortly after launch when one solar panel failed to unfold, leading to a shortage of power. Further issues with orientation detectors and the automatic stabilization system complicated maneuvering, and the mission was aborted after 18 orbits.

Reader's Guide

The Soyuz 1 tragedy delayed the launch of Soyuz 2 and Soyuz 3 until 25 October 1968, and contributed to scuttling Soviet plans of landing a cosmonaut on the Moon. A much improved Soyuz programme emerged from the eighteen-month delay, mirroring improvements made in the Apollo program after the Apollo 1 tragedy. Although it failed to reach the Moon, the Soyuz went on to be repurposed as the people-carrier for the Salyut space station program, the Mir space station, and the International Space Station, becoming one of the longest-lived and most dependable crewed spacecraft yet designed. Komarov is commemorated in two memorials left on the lunar surface: one at Tranquility Base by Apollo 11, and the Fallen Astronaut statue and plaque left by Apollo 15.

Did You Know?

• The original mission plan involved a rendezvous with Soyuz 2, but that launch was called off due to thunderstorms.
• Komarov's final recorded words were a conversation about module separation, ending with 'Thank you, tell everyone it happened' (garbled).
• A story that Komarov cursed engineers and spoke to his wife during descent is regarded as untrue by historians.