The Cursed Soviet Hero

When we discuss Soviet achievements in technology and astronomy, it is often difficult to realize that their advances are not only products of Communism, which is a despicable political philosophy to the majority of us, but also a result of sacrifices and hard work. Many Soviet scientists, engineers, and other personnel contribute to the nuclear and space race not only because their cruel premiere demand so, but also because they crave knowledge and advancements in their field of interest. Daniel Ghasemfar's article illustrates the story of Yuri Gagarin as a young boy who crawled his way from the depth of hell to becoming a national hero. To Gagarin, there is only one hero - a man named Vladimir Komarov who was buried under his success and fame.

Vladimir Komarov was born on March 16, 1927, to a poor family that relied on various unstable low-paid jobs. He himself became a poor laborourer in 1941 on a collective farm. At a young age, he demonstrated an interest in aeronautics and collected magazines and pictures about aviation. He was presented with the opportunity to enter the First Moscow Special Air Force School at the age of fifteen. In 1945, he graduated from the flight school with honors and entered the Chkalov Higher Air Force School in Borisoglebsk in Voronezh Oblast for his first year of combat training. He completed his training at the A.K. Serov Military Aviation College in Bataisk and graduated in 1949, receiving his pilot's wings and position as a lieutenant in the Soviet Air Force. He was promoted to senior lieutenant in 1952, and later assigned as the chief pilot of the 486th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 279th Fighter Air Division in the Prikarpate Region. Continuing his interest in aeronautics, he left eh position in 1954 and enrolled in an engineering course at the N.E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. In 1959, he was promoted to senior engineer-lieutenant and became a test pilot at the Central Scientific Research Institute at Chkalovsky, eventually earning the title of engineer-captain later that year. His successes gave him the opportunity to participate in the selection process for cosmonaut. Although qualified, he was not chosen in the top six candidates due to the age, height, and weight restrictions.

Komarov's engineering qualifications allowed him to remain within the training program, eventually becoming the third highest paid cosmonaut in the Soviet Union. (below Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov) He was given the opportunity in May 1962 to participate in planned dual Vostok missions when one of the participants, Georgi Shonin, demonstrated incompatibility in a g-force environment. In April 1964, Komarov was declared space-flight ready along with seven of his peers. This group was eventually reduced to four people including Komarov. By July 6, 1964, he was assigned the commander of the back-up crew for Voskhod 1. On the morning of October 11, 1964, Komarov went on his first mission on Voskhod 1 along with two other civilians. The mission lasted just over 24 hours, and he earned his position as a colonel as well as awards of the Order of Lenin and Hero of the Soviet Union.

At this point in time, Komarov's life had been bejeweled by prestige and successes. He rose from the slums of Moscow to national hero, much like Yuri Gagarin. Their roads finally intersected in 1965, when he was assigned to work with Yuri Gagarin in supervising preparations for the flight of Voskhod 2. They went on a tour with a few other cosmonauts through Leningrad. This exchange initiated the unbreakable friendship between Komarov and Gagarin. They were both assigned to the Soviet Soyuz program, which started in the early 1960s. Komarov, as an experienced engineer, saw many fatal design problems with the Soyuz module. He, Gagarin, and several other senior technicians inspected the module and found 203 structural problems. Their concerns were ignored by the design team who had a strict deadline set by the premiere of the Soviet Union during the time, Leonid Brezhnev. Despite knowing that the mission would not be successful, Komarov decided not to resign his position as the commander of Soyuz 1, because his dear friend Yuri Gagarin would be in his position if he did. Gagarin, knowing the situation, desperately called for the postponement of the mission. He wrote a 10-page memo and gave it to his best friend in the KGB, Venyamin Russayev, but no one dared to send it up to Brezhnev. Everyone who saw that memo, including Russayev, was demoted, fired, or sent to diplomatic Siberia.

Komarov told Russayev that he was "not going to make it back from this flight."
Russayev asked, "Why not refuse?"
Komarov answered, "IF I don't make this flight, they'll send the backup pilot instead."
"That's Yuri, and he'll die instead of me. We've got to take care of him," Komarov said as he burst into tears.

On the launch day, April 23, 1967, Gagarin showed up at the launch site and demanded to be put into a spacesuit. Some observers said that he tried to resist the guards and board the flight to save his friend. The spacecraft left the ground with Komarov on it at 00:32 UTC. Soon after the launch, a solar panel failed to unfold, leading to a shortage of power for the spacecraft's systems. Problems arose with the orientation detectors, making it difficult to control the spacecraft. By the 13th orbit, the automatic stabilization system was completely dead, and the manual system was only partially working. The flight director decided to abort the mission after Komarov's report during the 13th orbit. After 18 orbits, Soyuz 1 headed towards Earth and reentered its atmosphere. In spite of the technical difficulties, Komarov was able to maneuver the spacecraft in the right direction.

As Komarov headed towards the Earth's surface, U.S. intelligence was listening in through a National Security Agency facility at an Air Force base near Istanbul. Komarov told ground control officials that he knew he was about to die. Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin called on a video phone telling him he was a hero. His wife also called to talk about what to say to their children. Everyone was crying on the phone.

When the parachutes failed to open during the descent, Komarov cried in rage. He "[cursed] the people who had put him inside the botched spaceship." He let out his last curses as his body melts inside the accelerating capsule before crashing into the Earth's surface. Soyuz 1 hit the ground with the force of a 2.8-ton meteorite, instantly flattening the capsule.

Before the flight, Komarov had demanded that his funeral be open-casket so that the Soviet leadership could see what they had done. His funeral was open-casket, but only charred bones remained. The only recognizable part of his body was his heel bone. No apology was given by the administration, and his fellow cosmonauts published a response in Pravda, depicting his death as a voluntary sacrifice for the motherland. His best friend, Yuri Gagarin, was the only one who demonstrated anger against the administration. He gathered Russayev in his family apartment to relieve his anger.

Gagarin said to Russayev, "I must go to see the main man [Brezhnev] personally."
Russayev was also angry and said, "I'll get through to him somehow, and if I ever find out he knew about the situation and still let everything happen, then I know exactly what I'm going to do."

It was rumored that Gagarin had the opportunity to see Brezhnev and threw a drink in Brezhnev's face. It is up to you to decide whether or not this is true.

Although Komarov was honored a hero upon his death, neither Komarov nor Gagarin was happy with the result. What they wanted was the Soviet administration to recognize their mistakes and apologize or make sure that such mistakes would never happen again. Of course, this would never happen, as the administration ignored even the national hero's own words of frustration regarding his friend's death.

I really hope Gagarin did throw a drink in Brezhnev's face.