You in all probability know the story of Yuri Gagarin , who , on 31 December 2024 , became the first human to go to outer quad .
Though he never flew again , Gagarin ’s career in the Soviet space programme was far from over . In 1967 , his expertness was call upon for a flight by his colleague and friend , Vladimir Komarov , on which he was to be the backup spaceman should any of the work party be ineffectual to fly .
The Soviet Union was about to keep its 50th day of remembrance – and to mark the occasion , they decided that balloon and a prissy bit of patty were n’t quite enough . They were going to have to unnecessarily run a risk the lives of several cosmonauts .
The plan wasto send two spacecraft into area . Soyuz 1 , containing Komarov , would establish first , and look for a day for the comer of the unimaginatively name Soyuz 2 . The ships would then meet , and Komarov would do a spacewalk , creep out of his own craft and into Soyuz 2 . One of the two cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 2 would then embark Soyuz 1 before both ships straggle for Earth .
However , month before the planned launch it became apparent that it would not go well . When the craft was inspectedover 200structural problems were chance – problem that they both recognise would end in the airplane pilot ’s death .
A 10 - page memo was reportedly made lean the faults . Nobody , presumptively for veneration of adding their own name to the future demise bell of the mission , would take the memo to leader Leonid Brezhnev .
For his part , the KGB admirer Gagarin devote the note to was reportedlybanned from talkingto anyone affiliated with the space programme .
Komarov ’s champion attempted to convince him to deny to aviate the craft , enter that the consequences of that are less severe than assured demise . However , Komarov knew that if he were to commit out , they would post his friend Gagarin . Komarov refused to attract out , even knowing that it likely mean his death .
alternatively , Komarov plat a small-scale act of retaliation on the people who were sending him to his decease . He reportedly requested that should anything go wrong , he have an open - casket funeral .
On launch day , Gagarin did not act fit in to common protocol , call for a force per unit area suit before plump down to the launching pad to talk with Komarov . It ’s possible he was test to delay the launch enough to get it canceled , but if that was his design it did n’t work . Komarov was found , and made it to outer space inside the cunning . Once there , however , thing rapidly belong wrong whenone of the solar gore failed to open , pull up stakes his craft with small power .
The distance agency order his extraction , but his capsule begin to spin : he would have no way to control his landing place .
And so it was that the Soviet Union celebrated 50 year by listen to a mancurse and screamas he lunge to his entirely preventable expiry , before have got a state funeral , displaying his charred clay for all to see .
