Written by: Himani Bhattarai - 24011, Grade X
Posted on: 07 June, 2021
In 1967 the Soviet Scientists came up with a space mission.It was during when space race had gained popularity.They planned to send two Spacecrafts Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 2 in space.Soyuz 1 was supposed to be operated by Vladimir kamorav and Soyuz 2 by two other cosmonauts..They were meant to exchange crewmates in space with the help of a vehicle activity.The main objective was to help in lunar expeditions in the future.
Vladimir Kamorav was a Soviet Cosmonaut. He was one of the most skilled Cosmonauts back at that time. That is the reason why he was selected as the solo pilot of Soyuz 1. Yuri Gagarin; First human to go in space was his back up. Before the take off Soyuz was examined by a team. They found a lot of problems in Soyuz 1. Knowing the risk, the Soviets didn’t postpone or cancel the plan. Despite this Kamarov still decided to go on this mission because if he would deny Gagarin one of his closest friends was supposed to go on this mission. According to his friends he said that he wouldn’t make it back this time .On 23rd April 1967 Soyuz 1 was launched. The launch was a success. The success of this launch made Kamarov the first human to go to a space mission twice. Soyuz 2 was still on the earth as it was supposed to take off the next day. Soon after that problems started showing in the spacecraft. The antennas were not being opened and the solar panels started showing problems as well. There were many more problems arising in the craft. Soon after getting the message from Kamarov, Soviets cancelled the launch of Soyuz 2 and planned to make Kamorav’s mission a success and make him enter space without losing his life. According to some translators he was raged in anger and screaming “Heat is rising”. Soon after 18th orbit heat level was rising .He then decided to make a landing. As his solar panels were destroyed, landing and operating the craft became difficult. Then, his craft began to rotate continuously.He tried to land the spacecraft but the spacecraft fell to the earth at an incredible speed. His parachute system failed as well. Soyuz 1 then crashed into the earth at full speed.Komarov's body was completely burned. Soon Soviet Air force arrived and found the metal pieces of the craft.
Kamorav had his funeral in Moscow. He was also awarded with his second order of lenin and the award of Hero of the Soviet. After this incident Soviets were criticized by the media and government for knowingly sending Kamorav in a spacecraft which had more than 200 defaults. Yuri Gagarin as well had strongly criticized Soviets in an interview.We can see many carelessnesses of Soviets from the very beginning. There have been many more accidents of Soviets in the history of space missions.
Reference:
Robert Krulwich, March 18, 2011, https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2011/05/02/134597833/cosmonaut-crashed-into-earth-crying-in-rage
