Soviet Space Program - Soyuz-11 Mission patch.
June 29, 2021
Launch of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft from the Baikonur cosmodrome
Today the world remembers three heroes - cosmonauts Georgy Timofeevich Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Nikolaevich Volkov and Viktor Ivanovich Patsaev. June 30, 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of their death.
Soyuz-11 spacecraft at the landing site
The crew of Georgy Dobrovolsky was preparing for a space flight as a backup. In a few days, backup crews replaced the main crew cosmonauts, thereby saving the lives of Alexei Leonov, Valery Kubasov, Pyotr Kolodin. The Soyuz-11 spacecraft was launched on June 6, 1971.
Docking of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft with the Salyut orbital station
Docking with the world's first orbital station, transfer of the crew on board, deactivation of Salyut-1, tasks performed by cosmonauts in near-earth orbit made the work of the expedition fruitful, adding several successes to the "piggy bank" of space exploration by the Soviet Union. But on their return to Earth, the cosmonauts died.
Image above: The crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft, test engineer V.I.Patsaev, commander G.T. Dobrovolskiy. and flight engineer V.N. Volkov. in the cockpit of the simulator spacecraft.
Exactly half a century ago, they, as part of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft crew, returned to Earth from orbit after successfully completing the space flight program. Suddenly, at an altitude of about a hundred kilometers, due to a design flaw, the spacecraft was depressurized. For several seconds, before losing consciousness, the astronauts tried to fix the breakdown.
Image above: The crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft, pilot-cosmonauts V.N. Volkov, G.T. Dobrovolsky and V.I. Patsaev (from left to right).
The crew determined that they had a "leaking" breathing valve. As it was established later, Viktor Patsaev tried to rectify the situation. The astronaut managed to unfasten the harness in order to reach the "lamb" tap (to close it, it was necessary to make six and a half turns), which was located directly above his head, but, unfortunately, did not have time. After a few seconds, the pressure inside the spacecraft dropped and the astronauts died.
Image above: Survey of the horizon and cloud cover of the Earth, made in the region of Kazakhstan by cosmonauts Dobrovolsky G.T., Volkov V.N., Patsaev V.I. during the flight on the spacecraft Soyuz-11.
The deaths of cosmonauts Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsaev is the most terrible tragedy of all time in Soviet-Russian cosmonautics. The deceased crew members were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Every year cosmonauts, workers in the rocket and space industry and people not involved in cosmonautics remember this tragic date for our country, sacredly remember the courageous and brave Soviet heroes who are close to the concepts of self-sacrifice and loyalty to their cause. At the cost of their lives, they comprehended the cosmos.
Image above: The crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft cosmonauts VN Volkov, VI Patsaev And Dobrovolsky G.T. discussion of the flight program.
Today the names of Georgy Timofeevich Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Nikolaevich Volkov and Viktor Ivanovich Patsaev mean for us high courage, loyalty to our duty to the last second, professionalism, courage! Turning their eyes to the dawn of manned astronautics, today's generation keeps the memory of the heroic deeds of the Soyuz-11 crew.
Related links:
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/31676/
Союза-11: https://www.roscosmos.ru/31370/
ROSCOSMOS: https://www.roscosmos.ru/
Images, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
R.I.P., Orbiter.ch
