A warm June day in 1971. The descent vehicle of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft made its planned landing. In the flight control center, everyone applauded, eagerly awaiting the crew's airing. At that moment, no one suspected that the Soviet cosmonautics would soon be shaken by the largest tragedy in its entire history.
Long preparation for the flight
In the period from 1957 to 1975 between the USSR and the United States there was an intense rivalry in the field of space exploration. After three unsuccessful launches of the N-1 rocket, it became clear: the Soviet Union lost to the Americans in the lunar race. Work in this direction was quietly shut down, concentrating on the construction of orbital stations.
Drawing depicting the Soyuz-11 spacecraft and the Salyut orbital station, 1971 (Photo: TASS photo chronicle)
The first Salyut space station was successfully launched into orbit in the winter of 1971. The next goal was divided into four stages: to prepare the crew, send it to the station, successfully dock with it, and then conduct a series of research in open space for several weeks.
The docking of the first Soyuz 10 spacecraft was unsuccessful due to malfunctions in the docking station. Nevertheless, the cosmonauts managed to return to Earth, and their task fell on the shoulders of the next crew.
Its commander, Alexei Leonov, visited the design bureau every day and was looking forward to the launch. However, fate decreed otherwise. Three days before the flight, doctors found a strange spot on the lungs of flight engineer Valery Kubasov. There was no time left to clarify the diagnosis, and it was necessary to urgently look for a replacement.
Promotional video:
The crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft V. N. Volkov, V. I. Dobrovolsky and V. I. Patsaev on the plane before leaving for Baikonur, June 08, 1971 (Photo: V. Tereshkova and L. Putyatina / TASS)
The question of who will now fly into space was decided in power circles. The State Commission made its choice at the very last moment, only 11 hours before the start. Her decision was extremely unexpected: the crew was completely changed, and now Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsaev were sent into space.
Life on "Salyut-1": what awaited cosmonauts on the space station "Salyut"
Soyuz 11 was launched on June 6, 1971 from the Baikonur cosmodrome. At that time, pilots went into space in normal flight suits, because the design of the ship did not involve the use of space suits. With any oxygen leak, the crew was doomed.
Spacecraft Soyuz-11 at the launch pad. Photo & copy; RIA Novosti / Alexander Mokletsov
The day after the start, the difficult stage of docking began. On the morning of June 7, the remote control started the program responsible for rapprochement with the Salyut station. When it was no more than 100 meters away, the crew switched over to manual control of the ship and an hour later successfully docked with the OSS.
& quot; Crew Soyuz-11.
After that, a new stage in space exploration began - now there was a full-fledged scientific station in orbit. Dobrovolsky relayed the news of a successful docking to Earth, and his team began to deactivate the premises.
The astronauts' schedule was detailed. Every day they conducted research and biomedical experiments. Television reports from the Earth were regularly carried out directly from the station.
Commander of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft and the Salyut-1 orbital space station.
On June 26 (ie exactly 20 days later) the Soyuz 11 crew became the new record holder in flight range and duration of stay in space. There are 4 days left until the end of their mission. Communication with the Control Center was stable, and nothing foreshadowed trouble.
The way home and the tragic death of the crew
On June 29, the order came to complete the mission. The crew transferred all the research records to the Soyuz 11 and took their places. Undocking was successful, as reported by Dobrovolsky to the Control Center. Everyone was in high spirits. Vladislav Volkov even joked on the air: "See you on Earth, and prepare brandy."
After disconnection, the flight proceeded as planned. The braking system was launched in time, and the descent vehicle separated from the main compartment. After that, communication with the crew ceased.
Moscow. 30 June. Tragic news of the death of the crew of the spacecraft
Those who were expecting astronauts on Earth were not particularly alarmed. When the ship enters the atmosphere, a plasma wave rolls over its skin and the communication antennas are burned. This is just a normal situation, the connection should resume soon.
The parachute opened strictly according to the schedule, but the Yantari (this is the crew's call sign) was still silent. The silence on the air began to strain. After the descent vehicle landed, rescuers and doctors almost immediately ran up to it. There was no reaction to the knock on the skin, so the hatch had to be opened in emergency mode.
Soyuz-11 after landing.
A terrible picture appeared before my eyes: Dobrovolsky, Patsaev and Volkov sat dead in their chairs. The tragedy shocked everyone with its inexplicability. After all, the landing went according to plan, and more recently the astronauts got in touch. Death came from an almost instantaneous leak of air. However, what caused it was not yet known.
Why Soviet cosmonauts died
The special commission literally in seconds restored what actually happened. It turned out that during landing, the crew discovered an air leak through the ventilation valve above the commander's seat.
They did not have time to close it: it took 55 seconds for a healthy person, and there were no spacesuits or even oxygen masks in the equipment.
Funeral of Soyuz-11 crew members.
The medical commission found traces of cerebral hemorrhage and damage to the eardrum in all the victims. The air dissolved in the blood literally boiled and clogged the vessels, even getting into the chambers of the heart.
At the graves of Soviet cosmonauts on Red Square.
To search for a technical malfunction that caused the valve to depressurize, the commission conducted more than 1000 experiments with the involvement of the manufacturer. In parallel, the KGB was practicing a variant of deliberate sabotage.
However, none of these versions has been confirmed. Elementary negligence in production played its role here. Checking the state of the "Union", it turned out that many nuts were simply not tightened in the right way, which led to valve failure.
Moscow. The funeral of the tragically deceased crew members of the spacecraft
The day after the tragedy, all Soviet newspapers came out with black mourning frames, and any space flights were suspended for 28 months. Now, spacesuits were envisaged in the obligatory outfit of astronauts, but the cost of this was the lives of three pilots who never saw the bright summer sun on their native Earth.
