Khrunov (original) (raw)

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Khrunov, Yevgeni Vasiliyevich

Russian pilot cosmonaut 1960-1980. Member of first crew to transfer between spacecraft.

Status: Deceased; Active 1960-1980. Born: 1933-09-10. Died: 2000-05-19. Spaceflights: 1 . Total time in space: 1.99 days. Birth Place: Prudy, Tula.

Graduated from Air Force Military Engineering Academy, Monino, 1968. Received a candidate of technical sciences degree, 1971. Later doctor of technical sciences degree. Cosmonaut training March 1960 - 3 April 1961. Later Chief, State Committee for Foreign Economic Relations. Resigned from active duty 1989 and worked thereafter as an engineer in the transport industry, becoming a managing director at several companies. Died of a heart attack.

More at: Khrunov.

Family: Cosmonaut. Country: Russia. Spacecraft: Voskhod, Salyut 6. Flights: Vostok 7, Vostok 8, Voskhod 2, Voskhod 6, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz 4, Soyuz 4/5, Soyuz n 18, Soyuz 38. Agency: VVS. Bibliography: 4452, 5615.

1933 September 10 - .

Birth of Yevgeni Vassilyevich Khrunov - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov. Russian pilot cosmonaut 1960-1980. Member of first crew to transfer between spacecraft. 1 spaceflight, 2.0 days in space. Flew to orbit on Soyuz 5 (1969)..

1960 February 25 - .

Soviet Air Force Cosmonaut Training Group 1 selected. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anikeyev, Belyayev, Bondarenko, Bykovsky, Filatyev, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Kartashov, Khrunov, Komarov, Leonov, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rafikov, Shonin, Titov, Varlamov, Volynov, Zaikin.
The group was selected to provide pilot astronauts for the Vostok manned spaceflight program.. Qualifications: Military jet aircraft pilots under 30 years of age; under 170 cm tall; under 70 kg in weight.. While the Americans sought mature test pilots for their first spaceflights, the Soviets recruited young pilots with the intent of training them for a career as spacemen. There were 3,000 applicants following interviews with medical doctor teams that toured Soviet air bases beginning in August 1959. 102 were called for physical and psychological tests. 8 of these were selected, but then Chief Designer Korolev said he wanted a pool three times larger than the American Mercury cadre. Of the 20 selected, 12 would fly in space. Of the 8 that did not, 1 died in a ground fire in training; 3 were dismissed for disciplinary reasons; and 4 left following injuries in training.

1961 April 3 - .

Vostok first manned spaceflight authorised. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Khrunov, Komarov, Nelyubov, Titov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.
The eleven cosmonauts not short-listed for early spaceflights are given a new screening examination. However only Khrunov and Komarov are interviewed before an urgent phone call is received from the General Staff: report at 13:00 with Gagarin, Titov, and Nelyubov, then proceed to a Communist Party meeting at 15:00 for the first flight decision. All concerned again confirm readiness for flight, and again Kamanin passes around his photo album, showing the Vostok's potential for military photoreconnaissance. Kamanin briefs the cosmonauts afterwards on the results of the NAZ ejection seat tests. There have been three successful ejections from the Il-28 aircraft, plus ejections from the re-entry capsule on the ground and from an altitude of 5 km. All tests were successful. The cosmonauts are aware of the remaining problems with the capsule but are confident it is safe for a one-orbit flight. Gagarin says that Parachutist Colonel Nikolai Konstantinovich Nikitin, their instructor, should inspect the cosmonaut's parachute at the pad. The cosmonauts have confidence in him, but he has made problems over the tests at Fedosiya. At 16:00 Korolev calls. The Central Committee has approved the flight. He leaves for Tyuratam for final launch preparations. The cosmonauts' confirmation of readiness for flight was recorded and played back to the committee. The resulitng decree 'On approval for launch of Vostok' provided the final authority to proceed with the first manned spaceflight.

1962 March 16 - .

Cosmonaut salaries - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anikeyev, Belyayev, Bykovsky, Filatyev, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Kartashov, Khrunov, Komarov, Leonov, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rafikov, Shonin, Titov, Volynov, Zaikin. Kamanin reviews cosmonaut salaries. Gagarin is getting 639 roubles a year; Titov 579; Komarov 528 (due to his rank as major and years in service); and the rest, being captains, receive 483. Gagarin is making more than Kamanin, his commander..

1963 April 19 - .

Cosmonaut training for Vostok 5/6. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Khrunov, Leonov, Tereshkova, Volynov. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.
It is clear that the female cosmonauts are trained and ready for an August flight, and the men (Bykovskiy, Volynov, Leonov, Khrunov) can complete training by that date. The male cosmonauts object to spending 7 to 8 days in a spacesuit in the ground spacecraft mock-up as required by the flight doctors. They don't want to spend more than 3 to 4 days.

1963 May 4 - .

Kamanin informed that a dual spaceflight has been decreed within the next 6 weeks. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Korolev, Leonov, Tereshkova, Titov, Volynov. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6.
Only today is Kamanin informed that a dual flight has been decreed within the next 3 to 6 weeks. The women are ready, but Bykovskiy and Volynov need a few parachute jumps and training in the hot mock-up. Leonov and Khrunov need additional centrifuge training as well. Bykovskiy and Volynov should be ready by 30 May, and Leonov and Khrunov by 15 June. Therefore earliest possible launch date is 5 to 15 June. Alekseyev's bureau is as always the pacing factor. He can adapt one of the female ejection seats for Bykovskiy, but not for Volynov. The space suit for Leonov will only be completed by 30 May. Kamanin talks to Korolev about dumping Alekseyev's bureau in the future. Cosmonaut parachute trainer Nikitin agrees that Bykovskiy can complete his parachute qualification at Fedosiya on 9-10 May. Further bad behaviour by Titov is reported during a trip to Kiev. He insulted an officer ('I am Titov, who are you?') and then had general's wives intervene on his behalf to get him out of trouble.

1963 May 9 - .

Cosmonauts Tour Glushko Factory - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Glushko, Khrunov, Komarov, Korolev. Flight: Vostok 5. Spacecraft Bus: Sokol. Spacecraft: Sokol SK-1.
Victory Day Holiday in the Soviet Union. The cosmonauts toured Glushko's engine factory. Glushko has 11,000 employees at four locations. The resentment between Glushko and Korolev, going back to their time in the Gulag, is apparent. Korolev calls during the tour but Glushko does not return his call. Later Alekseyev contacts Kamanin and proposes that Komarov be the back-up cosmonaut for Vostok 5 rather than Khrunov - because he hasn't finished the suit yet for Khrunov!

1963 May 11 - .

Vostok 5 / Vostok 6 Planning - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Keldysh, Khrunov, Korolev, Leonov, Ponomaryova, Rudenko, Solovyova, Tereshkova, Volynov, Yerkina. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.
Korolev reports still problems with components of the electrical system from the Kharkov factory -- the same problems that existed in 1962. The cosmonauts will go to Tyuratam on 27/28 May, with launch planned for 3/5 June. Bykovskiy is named prime for Vostok 5, with Volynov his backup. Tereshkova is named prime for Vostok 6, with Solovyova and Ponomaryeva both as her backups. This selection is however made despite strong support for Ponomaryeva as prime by Keldysh and Rudenko.

1963 May 21 - .

The cosmonauts are informed of the selections for the Vostok 5/6 flights. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Khrunov, Korolev, Leonov, Ponomaryova, Solovyova, Tereshkova, Volynov, Yerkina. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok. Korolev asks Ponomaryova why she is so sad - 'I am not sad, but serious, as always'..

1963 September 17 - .

Cosmonaut training group formed for planned 1964 Vostok flights - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Leonov, Shonin, Volynov, Zaikin. Flight: Vostok 10, Vostok 7, Vostok 8, Vostok 9. Spacecraft: Vostok. Belyaev, Komarov, Shonin, Khrunov, Zaikin, Gorbatko, Volynov, and Leonov are assigned..

1964 January 23 - .

Military Soviet on cosmonaut assignments - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Belyayev, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Demin, Gorbatko, Gulyayev, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Kugno, Leonov, Nikolayev, Ponomaryova, Popovich, Shatalov, Shonin, Solovyova, Titov, Volynov, Zaikin, Zholobov. Program: Vostok, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz A-1, Soyuz A-2, Soyuz A-3, Soyuz A-4, Vostok 10, Vostok 7, Vostok 8, Vostok 9. Spacecraft: Soyuz A, Vostok.
The General Staff of the VVS considers future cosmonaut assignments. The acceptance of Beregovoi into the active cosmonaut corps is hotly contested. He has passed all the tests, but is 43 years old, and the official maximum age for a cosmonaut is 35. Finally it is decided that on 25 January six cosmonauts will begin training for Vostok flights (Volynov, Khrunov, Belyayev, Leonov, Komarov, and Beregovoi). On 1 February four crews will begin training for Soyuz flights: Crew 1: Nikolayev, Shonin, Demin, Kugno; Crew 2: Bykovsky, Zaikin, Artyukhin, Gulyayev; Crew 3: Popovich, Gorbatko, Ponomaryova, Kolodin; Crew 4: Titov, Shatalov, Solovyova, Zholobov.

1964 April 23 - .

Voskhod crews - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Bykovsky, Demin, Khrunov, Komarov, Leonov, Popovich, Titov, Volynov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 1. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.
Komarov has declared that nine cosmonauts are spaceflight-ready: Bykovsky, Popovich, Titov, Volynov, Leonov, Khrunov, Belyayev, Komarov, and Demin. One of these will command Voskhod, the other two seats will be occupied by a physician and an engineer or news correspondent. Kamanin is given only two to three months to prepare the passengers for spaceflight - something he reiterates is a dangerous adventure.

1964 May 21 - .

Voskhod configurations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bushuyev, Khrunov, Komarov, Korolev, Leonov, Volynov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 1, Voskhod 2. Spacecraft: Berkut, Sokol SK-1, Voskhod.
A meeting of Generals Kholodkov (VVS) and Yuryshev (General Staff) reviews military space plans - launch centres, anti-satellite forces, command and control systems. Kamanin looks forward to the VVS taking control of military cosmonautics. Later a meeting with Korolev and Bushuyev reviews Voskhod crew plans. It is agreed that the commanders will be selected from among the four flight-ready unflown cosmonauts (Volynov, Komarov, Leonov, Khrunov). Korolev describes in detail for the first time the inflatable airlock that is to be fitted to four Voskhods to allow one cosmonaut to exit into space. Korolev believes it will be possible to use the existing Vostok spacesuit for this operation, but Kamanin severely doubts this.

1964 July 6 - .

Voskhod crews selected. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Feoktistov, Gorbatko, Katys, Khrunov, Komarov, Lazarev, Leonov, Sorokin, Volynov, Yegorov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 1. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.
Kamanin select Volynov, Katys, and Yegorov as the prime crew for the Voskhod flight. Komarov, Feoktistov, and Sorokin will be the backup crew. Lazarev will serve as reserve for both crew physician position. The VVS leadership approves the selection. For the first space walk (the flight designated Vykhod at the time), Belyayev, Leonov, Khrunov, and Gorbatko are in training. All want to be first, but Kamanin finds Leonov and Khrunov to have the best analytical minds, to be able to get themselves out of a jam if something goes wrong. He selects Belyayev and Gorbatko to be trained as spacecraft commanders for the missions.

1964 September 24 - .

Voskhod crew ready - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Feoktistov, Gagarin, Katys, Khrunov, Khrushchev, Komarov, Lazarev, Sorokin, Volynov, Yegorov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 1. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.
Kamanin arrives at Baikonur. All is ready for the Voskhod launch, except the spacecraft. Kamanin conducts a final readiness review with Volynov, Komarov, Katys, Feoktistov, Yegorov, Sorokin, and Lazarev. He tells them that every one of them must do his utmost to be physically and psychologically ready for the flight, since the final crew selection will not be made until 2 or 3 days before the launch. Gagarin, Belyayev, and Khrunov are at the cosmodrome, where they are showing the Vykhod spacecraft to Khrushchev. Later Kamanin discusses the crew selection with the military leadership. The top brass have no interest in space and seem to be ready to give in to Korolev. This invalidates everything Kamanin was worked for in terms of establishing a systematic method of cosmonaut selection, training, and crew selection.

1964 December 29 - .

Vykhod training - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Leonov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft: Berkut, Voskhod. Belyayev, Leonov, Khrunov, and Gorbatko are undergoing zero-G training in spacesuits aboard a specially-outfitted Tu-104. .

1965 January 15 - .

Cosmonaut examinations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Demin, Dobrovolsky, Gorbatko, Gubarev, Khrunov, Leonov, Pitskhelauri, Shatalov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft: Vostok.
The 15 candidate-astronauts take their first phase examinations. 13 are rated outstanding, with Shatalov, Gubarev, and Demin doing the best. Two are rated only 'good' - Dobrovolskiy and Pitskherlauri. Dobrovolskiy was the worst, getting some answers completely wrong. For example, he said that the maximum thickness of Vostok's heat shield was 440 mm, when the correct answer was 140 mm; and identified Krug as a homing beacon on the search aircraft, rather than aboard the spacecraft. However overall everything went well, and all were considered to have passed. On this day Belyayev and Leonov complete their centrifuge training. Belyayev is 40 years old, and had little trouble with the centrifuge. Kamanin resolves to name Khrunov as a spacecraft commander in Belyayev's place, with a final crew being Khrunov-Leonov in case Belyayev cannot fly for some reason. Khrunov is available since Zaikin since the decision has been made to train Zaikin as Leonov's backup instead of Gorbatko.

1965 January 19 - .

Vykhod crews - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Beregovoi, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Leonov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.
Faced with continuing pressure to fly Beregovoi on the Vykhod flight. Kamanin notes that the spacecraft requires short cosmonauts of minimum weight (Belyayev is 170 cm tall and weighs 72 kg; Leonov 172 cm and 78.2 kg; Gorbatko 168.5 cm and 69 kg; Khrunov 171 cm and 70.8 kg; and Zaikin 167 cm and 69.3 kg). By comparison Beregovoi is 180 cm tall and weights 84.5 kg.

1965 February 9 - .

Voskhod 2 crew selection. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Khrunov, Leonov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod. The State Commission meets to consider Voskhod 2 crew assignments. Belyayev and Leonov are named the prime crew, with Zaikin and Khrunov as their back-ups. .

1965 February 11 - .

Cosmos 57 preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.
After a one-day diversion to Tashkent due to bad weather, Kamanin and the VVS delegation land at Baikonur. The weather is -10 deg C and heavy snow. It is reported from Moscow that Zaikin and Khrunov successfully operated the airlock at 37 km altitude in the TKB-60, and this time the Vega system finally worked. In the evening, as the others leave for a film, Kamanin looks out from his room in the cosmonaut dormitory at Area 17. He sees hundreds of new buildings in the snow, where none existed only five years ago. Baikonur is truly developing into a powerful space centre.

1965 March 3 - .

Voskhod-2 crew review. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Khrunov, Leonov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.
Kamanin reviews emergency procedures with the Voskhod-2 prime and backup crews, and finds their training fully complete - they are ready for flight. Re-entry with the airlock ring is a special concern. If the airlock has jettisoned normally, the ring will have a height of 27-40 mm above the surface of the spherical capsule; if it only partially jettisons, the rings could be as much as 70-80 mm high. In such a case the asymmetry of the ring on the upper heat shield might impart a rotation to the capsule. The drogue parachute can be safely deployed at up to 1.5 to 2.0 revolutions per second; beyond that there is real danger to the crew's survival. If the experiment with the Zenit capsule fitted with the ring is successful, that will provide some confidence. But if the Zenit is not launched or fails to return to earth, then in Korolev's opinion the flight should be delayed until the safety of re-entry with the ring can be demonstrated. However the majority of the State Commission disagrees with Korolev, and believe it will be safe to proceed with the Voskhod-2 flight even without the Zenit test.

1965 March 5 - .

Voskhod plans - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Khrunov, Korolev, Rudenko, Tereshkova, Volynov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2, Voskhod 3, Voskhod 4, Voskhod 5, Voskhod 6. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.
Only on this day does Kamanin receive a copy of Korolev's "Preliminary Plan for Voskhod spacecraft (3KV and 3KD) series in 1965", issued in February. His plan is:
- 3KV Number 5 - to be completed in June, launched by August, an unmanned biological flight with life forms, to be kept in orbit for 15-30 days, with experimental equipment in the cabin to monitor the organisms and a self-destruct system
- 3KV Number 6 - to be completed in August, and flown by October on a 15-day mission with a two-man crew: a flight commander and scientist
- 3KV number 7 - to be completed in December, and flown by April 1966 on a 15-20 day mission with a pilot and physician aboard. The spacecraft would also conduct artificial gravity experiments for 3-4 days of the flight
- 3KD numbers 8 and 9 - a prime spacecraft and a backup, fitted with the airlock system. A spacecraft commander and pilot would make a flight or flights of 3 to 5 days. 2 or 3 spacewalks would be conducted on each flight, with the EVA cosmonaut using a manoeuvring apparatus to back away as far as 50 to 100 m from the spacecraft. Manually controlled landing of the capsule would also be demonstrated
  Kamanin is disappointed that there are few experiments of military significance in Korolev's plan. Kamanin calls Korolev to complain, and Korolev rightly replies that if the Ministry of Defence would authorise him to build more than nine spacecraft, then he could conduct other experiments... Meanwhile, Leonov is conducting his final practice sessions on exiting and re-entering the airlock aboard the Tu-104 zero-G aircraft. Khrunov will have his final sessions the next day.
  Kamanin is preparing the final press packet, with the cosmonaut biographies, which will be delivered to TASS but only released by them after confirmation that the spacecraft is in orbit. Later Kamanin and forty other guests, including hero-cosmonauts and future hero-cosmonauts, throw a party for Tereshkova's 28th birthday. There is tension in the room as the cosmonauts eye each other as competitors for the flights after Voskhod-2. Volynov is the leading candidate to command the next flight, and has already been a back-up four times, but Marshal Rudenko keeps blocking his selection for flight (Volynov is a Jew). Rudenko is pushing Beregovoi for the next flight, and everyone in the room knows it...

1965 March 9 - .

Tyuratam - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Khrunov, Korolev, Leonov, Tyulin, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.
Kamanin and the cosmonauts land at the airfield at 11:45, but have to wait until 12:10 for the arrival of Tyulin and Korolev for the official greeting. Korolev is ill but pushing himself hard. A dispute breaks out about crew assignments. At the last minute some want Khrunov to substitute for Belyayev. Korolev is clearly disgusted by such reversals after the prime crew has been set for months.

1965 March 10 - .

Voskhod-2 preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Gagarin, Khrunov, Komarov, Leonov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft: Berkut, Voskhod.
Final flight suit fitting is conducted on Belyayev, Khrunov, Leonov, and Zaikin by Komarov and Gagarin. It is decided that on flight day only Belyayev, Leonov, and Khrunov will suit up. Khrunov has trained for both crew positions, and in case of last second substitution, he can fly in place of either Belyayev or Leonov. Kamanin tells of the opposition to Belyayev making the flight, which goes back to an incident in the altitude chamber when a Colonel Karpov underhandedly reported that Belyayev was performing poorly. Kamanin believed this was due to bad telemetry. Leonov recounts another incident where the oxygen supply was failing during the same test, but Belyayev did not denounce the Factory 918 staff.
That evening the contingent watches the Arabic film "Black Glasses". At the same time an incident is developing when Khrunov insists that the second crew would only train in the capsule in their spacesuits - otherwise they would report to the State Commission that they were not ready for flight. That evening's training session was cancelled as a result.

1965 March 11 - .

Voskhod preparations incident - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Korolev. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod. Korolev is furious over Khrunov's actions, and says he does not need such cosmonauts in his program. The matter seems to be escalating, but is finally defused when Khrunov meets with Korolev..

1965 March 18 - . 07:00 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC1. LV Family: R-7. Launch Vehicle: Voskhod 11A57.

Voskhod 2 - . Call Sign: Almaz (Diamond ). Crew: Belyayev, Leonov. Backup Crew: Gorbatko, Khrunov, Zaikin. Payload: Voskhod 3KD s/n 4. Mass: 5,682 kg (12,526 lb). Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Korolev, Rudenko, Tyulin. Agency: MOM. Program: Voskhod. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod. Duration: 1.08 days. Decay Date: 1965-03-19 . USAF Sat Cat: 1274 . COSPAR: 1965-022A. Apogee: 475 km (295 mi). Perigee: 167 km (103 mi). Inclination: 64.80 deg. Period: 90.90 min.
First spacewalk, with a two man crew of Colonel Pavel Belyayev and Lt. Colonel Aleksey Leonov. During Voskhod 2's second orbit, Leonov stepped from the vehicle and performed mankind's first "walk in space." After 10 min of extravehicular activity, he returned safely to the spacecraft through an inflatable airlock.
This mission was originally named 'Vykhod ('Exit/Advance'). It almost ended in disaster when Leonov was unable to reenter the airlock due to stiffness of the inflated spacesuit. He had to bleed air from the suit in order to get into the airlock. After Leonov finally managed to get back into the spacecraft cabin, the primary hatch would not seal completely. The environmental control system compensated by flooding the cabin with oxygen, creating a serious fire hazard in a craft only qualified for sea level nitrogen-oxygen gas mixes (Cosmonaut Bondarenko had burned to death in a ground accident in such circumstances, preceding the Apollo 204 disaster by many years). Additional Details: here....

1965 April 13 - .

Voskhod crews - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Beregovoi, Demin, Gorbatko, Katys, Keldysh, Khrunov, Korolev, Ponomaryova, Rudenko, Shatalov, Solovyova, Vershinin, Volynov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 3, Voskhod 4, Voskhod 5, Voskhod 6.
Kamanin meets with Marshall Rudenko to present his cosmonaut crew plans. For the experimental gravity flight he proposes Volynov-Katys (prime crew), Beregovoi-Demin, and Shatalov-Artyukhin (back-up crew). Rudenko wants Beregovoi's as the first crew, but Kamanin, sensing the Marshall is unsure in his position, pushes for Volynov. He then presents his plan for the next Voskhod EVA mission: Solovyova and Ponomaryova as the female prime crew, Khrunov and Gorbatko, and Zaikin as the male back-up crew. Kamanin says he already has Korolev, Keldysh, and Vershinin behind this plan. But Rudenko says he will decide this later - he has to take his daughter to the hospital.

1965 August - .

Vostok 12 (cancelled) - . Crew: Khrunov. Payload: Vostok 3KA s/n 14. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 12. Spacecraft: Vostok. Apogee: 200 km (120 mi). Perigee: 180 km (110 mi). Inclination: 65.00 deg. Proposed Vostok flight to conduct extra-vehicular activity tests. All follow-on Vostok missions were cancelled in Spring 1964..

1965 November 26 - .

Voskhod 3 arguments - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Khrunov, Rudenko, Shatalov, Vershinin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 3. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.
The argument continues over IMBP running qualification tests instead of IAKM. This will cause a 5 to 7 day delay in qualifying the system for flight. Vershinin and Rudenko later clear Kamanin's recommendation for the Voskhod 3 crew for the new 20-day fight plan: Volynov as commander, Khrunov or Gorbatko as pilot, Beregovoi and Shatalov as back-ups.

1966 March 12 - .

Voskhod/Soyuz crews - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Katys, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Matinchenko, Mozzhorin, Nikolayev, Ponomaryova, Popovich, Solovyova, Tyulin, Voronov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Voskhod 4, Voskhod 5.
Tyulin and Mozzhorin review with Kamanin crewing plans. Even though the missions of Voskhod 4 and 5 are not yet clear, Tyulin wants to settle on Beregovoi and Katys for Voskhod 4, and Ponomaryova and Solovyova for Voskhod 5. Since October 1965 six crews have been in training for Soyuz flights: Gagarin -Voronov, Nikolayev-Gorbatko, Bykovsky-Matinchenko, Komarov-Kolodin, Zaikin-Khrunov, and Popovich-Artyukhin. But these are just nominal groupings, and firm crew assignments by mission have not yet been made.

1966 July 2 - .

Soyuz crew manoeuvres - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Bykovsky, Dolgopolov, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Grechko, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Makarov, Malinovskiy, Mishin, Nikolayev, Rudenko, Smirnov, Tsybin, Tyulin, Ustinov, Volkov, Voronov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.
Kamanin is back from leave and orients himself. VVS General Rudenko has been visited by Mishin, Tsybin, and Tyulin. They want to replace Kamanin's crews for the first Soyuz mission in September-October with a crew made up of OKB-1 engineers: Dolgopolov, Yeliseyev, and Volkov as the prime crew, Anokhin, Makarov, and Grechko as back-ups. Kamanin believes this absurd proposal, made only three months before the planned flight date, shows a complete lack of understanding on the part of OKB-1 management of the training and fitness required for spaceflight. Kamanin has had eight cosmonauts (Komarov, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Bykovsky, Voronov, Kolodin, Gagarin, and Nikolayev) training for this flight since September 1965. Yet Mishin and Tyulin have been shopping this absurd proposal to Smirnov, Ustinov, and Malinovskiy, who do not know enough to reject it.

1966 July 25 - .

VVS Victory on Soyuz crew issue - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gorbatko, Khrunov, Kolodin, Malinovskiy, Mishin, Severin, Tyulin, Voronov. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft: Yastreb.
Tyulin advises Kamanin that Ustinov has instructed Mishin to accept that Soyuz spacecraft will be commanded by a VVS pilot cosmonaut, with OKB-1 providing cosmonauts for the engineering support role. Mishin is to immediately send four candidates from OKB-1 to Kamanin for cosmonaut training. Kamanin feels this is only a 50% victory, and vows to accelerate submission of the letter from Malinovskiy to the Central Committee, demanding that the support cosmonaut seats also be filled by trained VVS engineer cosmonauts (e.g. Khrunov, Gorbatko, Voronov, and Kolodin). Meanwhile spacesuit designer Severin informs Kamanin that OKB-1 has insisted that the outer hatch of Soyuz will remain at 660 mm diameter, even though he has told them for a long time that the minimum diameter for a cosmonaut in spacesuit with a life support system backpack is 700 mm. Kamanin agrees to support him, but notes the change can only be made in later spacecraft; it is too late to change the first production run.

1966 July 26 - .

Soyuz hatch problem - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Anokhin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Mishin, Severin, Sharafutdinov, Shcheglov, Skvortsov, Smirnov, Tsybin, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.
Training of the new cosmonaut cadre is reviewed. English language courses are proving to be a particular problem. There have been some potential washouts - Sharafutdinov has done poorly in astronomy, Shcheglov suffered an injury at the beach, Skvortsov damaged his landing gear on a MiG-21 flight.
At 15:00 a major review is conducted, with Komarov, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Kamanin, and other VVS officer meeting with OKB-1 leaders Mishin, Tsybin, Severin, Alekseyev, Anokhin, and other engineers. Film is shown of the difficulties in the zero-G aircraft of cosmonauts attempting to exit from the 660 mm diameter hatch. In four sets of ten attempts, the cosmonaut was only to get out of the hatch half the time, and then only with acrobatic contortions - the inflated suit has a diameter of 650 mm, only 10 mm less than the hatch. Mishin finally concedes the point. But installation of the hatch in Soyuz s/n 3 and 4 is not possible - the spacecraft are essentially complete, and to add the hatch would delay their flight 6 to 8 months. Then Mishin makes the astounding assertion that Gorbatko and Khrunov are not adequately trained to be engineer-cosmonauts, and without this he will not allow them into space. He suggests OKB-1 engineers Anokhin and Yeliseyev instead. After outraged response, Severin finally sinks this suggestion by pointing out that no space suit has been prepared for Anokhin, and that it will take two to three months to make one. Kamanin is astounded that Mishin has pushed Anokhin all the way up to Smirnov and the VPK without even knowing he could not possibly fly due to this restriction. It again points out their poor management. Finally Mishin agrees that spacecraft s/n 5 and 6 and on will have 720 mm hatches. The ECS for the suits for those missions will have to be changed from a backpack configuration, with the equipment rearranged around the waist of the cosmonaut. The crews for the flight will be an experienced VVS pilot cosmonaut as commander, and (Kamanin realizes he may have to concede) a VVS engineer as flight engineer cosmonaut. They will have to complete training by 1 October 1966.

1966 July 30 - .

Beregovoi pushed for Soyuz mission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Beregovoi, Burnazyan, Gagarin, Keldysh, Khrunov, Krylov, Malinovskiy, Mishin, Rudenko, Shonin, Tsybin, Tyulin, Vershinin, Volynov, Zakharov. Program: Soyuz, Voskhod. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4, Voskhod 3. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.
Mishin, Rudenko, and others have met with Beregovoi and support his selection as commander for the first Soyuz mission. Kamanin does not believe he is fit for the assignment, due to his age, his height and weight (that are the limit of the acceptable for the Soyuz). Gagarin reports that during a visit to OKB-1 the day before, he discovered that they were still going all out to prepare their own crews and train their own cosmonauts for Soyuz flights. Kamanin reassures him that the full power of the VVS, the General Staff, and the Ministry of Defence is behind the position that only VVS pilots will command the missions. Mishin is gloating over the latest spacesuit tests. Khrunov tried exiting from the Soyuz hatch in the Tu-104 zero-G aircraft. Using his full dexterity and strength, he had more success than in earlier tests. But Kamanin notes that designing a spacecraft hatch only 10 mm wider than the cosmonaut is hardly the basis for practical spaceflight or training. Later Kamanin plays tennis with Volynov and Shonin. Their Voskhod 3 flight is still not officially cancelled. They have been fully trained for the flight for months now, but no go-ahead is given. On Saturday, Tsybin presents to the General Staff OKB-1's concept for training of engineer cosmonauts. Tyulin, Burnazyan, and Keldysh have approved the plan, except they have substituted VVS engineer cosmonauts for those from OKB-1 for the first Soyuz flights. So this is the result of months of controversy - a position that there is no fundamental opposition to cosmonaut candidates from OKB-1. Kamanin sees the absolute need for his draft letter to be sent from the four Marshals (Malinovskiy, Zakharov, Krylov, and Vershinin) to the Central Committee. Mishin continues to "assist" the situation - it has been two weeks since he promised to submit the names and documentation for his candidates to the VVS, and he has done nothing.

1966 August 5 - .

Showdown on spacesuits - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Anokhin, Bushuyev, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Litvinov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Severin, Tsybin, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.
At a meeting at LII MAP Zazakov, Litvinov, Mishin, Tsybin, Bushuev, Severin, Alekseyev, and Komarov spar over the hatch and spacesuit problem. Severin only agrees to modifying the ECS under immense pressure, but the modified suit will not be ready until November. Severin could not get Mishin to agree to an increased hatch diameter from Soyuz s/n 8 - Mishin will only "study the problem". An arrangement of the ECS around the waist of the cosmonaut is finally agreed. Mishin and Litvinov categorically rejected any modification of the hatch in the first production run of Soyuz.
In turn, Factory 918 insisted on a final decision on Soyuz crews. They cannot build 16 of the custom-built spacesuits for all possible candidates for the flights (8 from VVS and 8 from OKB-1). It was therefore agreed that the commanders of the first two missions would be Komarov and Bykovsky, with Nikolayev and Gagarin as their backups. It was finally decided to assume that the other crew members would be either Khrunov and Gorbatko from the VVS, or Anokhin and Yeliseyev from OKB-1.

1966 August 23 - .

Soyuz recovery training at sea - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Burnazyan, Bykovsky, Gorbatko, Grechko, Keldysh, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Kubasov, Nikolayev, Smirnov, Volkov, Voronov. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.
Nikolayev, Bykovsky, Komarov, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Kolodin, and Voronov complete two parachute jumps each, with landing at sea. Training in sea-recovery by helicopter, with the cosmonauts in spacesuits, will be completed over the next two days. Smirnov is ready to sign a letter from Afanasyev, Burnazyan and Keldysh creating a new civilian cosmonaut training centre under the Ministry of Medium Machine Building, separate from the VVS centre. The letter is not coordinated with the Defence Ministry, and contradicts the letter sent by the four marshals to the Central Committee. Kamanin prepares a vigorous refutation of the letter's position. The physicians' board on OKB-1 candidates has only cleared Yeliseyev for flight - they could not agree on Volkov, Kubasov, and Grechko. OKB-1 only submitted four candidates for review, not the eight promised.

1966 September 2 - . LV Family: Proton. Launch Vehicle: Proton-K.

Lunar flight cosmonauts assignments. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Dobrovolsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Grechko, Khrunov, Klimuk, Kolodin, Komarov, Kubasov, Leonov, Makarov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rukavishnikov, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Volkov, Voloshin, Volynov, Voronov, Yeliseyev, Zholobov. Program: Lunar L1. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1.
In the period 1966 to 1968 there were five simultaneous Soviet manned space projects (Soyuz 7K-OK orbital; Soyuz 7K-L1 circumlunar; Soyuz VI military; L3 manned lunar landing; Almaz space station). Cosmonaut assignments were in constant flux, resulting in many claims in later years that 'I was being trained for the first moon flight'. Additional Details: here....

1966 September 2 - .

Cosmonaut civilian program training groups - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Dobrovolsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Leonov, Nikolayev, Shatalov, Volynov, Voronov, Zholobov. Program: Soyuz, Lunar L1, Lunar L3. Flight: Soviet Lunar Landing, Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 2, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 3, Soyuz s/n 3/4, Soyuz s/n 5/6, Voskhod 3. Spacecraft: LK, Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-LOK, Soyuz 7K-OK.
Kamanin organises the cosmonauts into the following training groups:
- Soyuz 7K-OK: Gagarin, Komarov, Nikolayev, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Voronov, Kolodin
- L1: Volynov, Dobrovolskiy, Voronov, Kolodin, Zholobov, Komarov, Bykovskiy
- L3: Leonov, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Gagarin, Nikolayev, Shatalov
  Rudenko agrees with Kamanin's plan, except he urges him to assign more cosmonauts to the Soyuz 7K-OK group, and include OKB-1 cosmonauts in the 7K-OK, L1, and L3 groups, and Academy of Science cosmonauts in the L1 and L3 groups.
  These cosmonaut assignments were in constant flux, and many cosmonauts were assigned to train for more than one program - resulting in multiple claims in later years that 'I was being trained for the first moon flight'.

1966 September 7 - .

Cosmonaut group leaders - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Belyayev, Gorbatko, Grechko, Khrunov, Kubasov, Popovich, Pravetskiy, Severin, Volkov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz, Almaz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft: Almaz OPS, Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz VI, Yastreb.
Volkov, Grechko and Kubasov believe they can complete cosmonaut training in two months. Of course they know space technology, but Kamanin informs them that, with intensive training, they might be ready in one or two years. Popovich is assigned as leader of the Soyuz VI military spacecraft training group, and Belyayev as head of the Almaz military orbital station training group. Kaminin tells Severin to complete spaceuits for Khrunov and Gorbatko, but to ignore Mishin's orders to prepare suits for Anokhin and Yeliseyev. Anokhin has already been rejected due to his age and health, and Yeliseyev is still being tested. Kamanin reviews draft test programs for the UR-500K/L1 and N1-L3. He lines out statements inserted by Pravetskiy on joint training of cosmonauts by the MOM, Ministry of Public Health and VVS.

1966 October 31 - .

Soyuz crews have only 40 days for flight training. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Kubasov, Nikolayev, Volkov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A.
First snow of the winter in Moscow. The training of Soyuz crews has to be completed within 40 days, but there is still no assurance the trainers will be ready by 15 November. Komarov will command the active spacecraft, and Bykovsky the passive. Gagarin and Nikolayev are their back-ups. The 20 December flight date can only be met if Khrunov and Gorbatko serve as flight engineers. Training of Kubasov, Volkov and Yeliseyev in 40 days is impossible. Yet there is still no agreement on the crew composition.

1966 November 3 - .

Soyuz parachute fails in drop test. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Mishin, Tyulin. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.
In a test of the reserve parachute at Fedosiya, the Soyuz capsule was dropped from the aircraft at 10,500 m. The drogue chute deployed normally, as did the main parachute. They were then jettisoned and the reserve parachute deployed normally. However descent on both main and auxiliary chutes occurs only with noticeable pulsations of their cupolas, with the capsule revolving at one RPM. In this case it finally led to failure of the lines of the reserve chute at 1500 m, after which it crashed to earth. Contributing to the problem was the jettison of the remaining hydrogen peroxide reaction control system fuel from the capsule during the descent. It is normally expected that 30 kg of the 70 kg load of propellant will remain after re-entry. When this was vented, it burned the parachute lines. Each line will normally carry a load of 450 kg, but after being burnt by the peroxide, they can be torn apart by hand. Meanwhile there is still no agreement on crew composition. Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov and Gorbatko can be ready for flight by10 December. However the VPK representatives, Tyulin and Mishin insist that their OKB-1 candidates be flown in stead of Khrunov and Gorbatko.

1966 November 17 - .

VVS told to surrender on crew assignments issue. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Kerimov, Khrunov, Kirillov, Komarov, Kuznetsov, Mishin, Rudenko, Yeliseyev, Zakharov. Program: Soyuz, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1.
Kamanin is at Tyuratam for the first Soyuz launch. He and Rudenko are accommodated in the new hotel at Area 2. It has all conveniences - a local telephone, radio and television with Moscow programs, even a promise to install an HF telephone that will allow secure communications with Moscow. Also there for the launch are Kerimov, Kirillov, Kuznetsov, Bykovsky, Komarov, Khrunov, amd Yeliseyev. Rudenko reports that he has been chewed out by Marshal Zakharov. Zakharov told him "What are you and Kamanin doing, blocking OKB-1 candidates from flight? If Mishin wants to send his people to the Moon, let him do it and do not interefere!"

1966 November 18 - . Launch Vehicle: N1.

N1 facilities tour - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Komarov, Kubasov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Rudenko, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.
Rudenko and Kamanin meet with Mishin at Area 31 (18-20 kilometers east of Area 2). Launch preparations are reviewed, and Mishin satisfies them that the two Soyuz will be launched on 26-27 November. The State Commission will meet officially tomorrow at 16:00. For today, they tour the N1 horizontal assembly building at Area 13. Korolev planned the N1 as early as 1960-1961. It will have a takeoff mass of 2700-3000 tonnes and will be able to orbit 90-110 tonnes. The first stage of rocket has 30 engines, and the booster's overall height is114 m. The construction of the assembly plant, considered a branch of the Kuibyshev factory, began in 1963 but is still not finished. Two factory shops are in use, and the adjacent main assembly hall is truly impressive - more than 100 m in length, 60 m high, and 200 wide. Work on assembly of the ground test version of the rocket is underway. Assembly will be completed in 1967, and it will be used to test the systems for transport to the pad, erection of the booster, servicing, and launch preparations. The booster is to be ready for manned lunar launches in 1968. The construction site of the N1 launch pads occupies more than one square kilometre. Two pads are located 500 meter from each other. Between and around them is a mutli-storied underground city with hundreds of rooms and special equipment installations.
Only late in the night Rudenko and Mishin finally agree that the crews for the first manned Soyuz flights will be: Basic crews: Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Yeliseyev; Back-up crews: Gagarin, Nikolayev, Gorbatko, Kubasov. Meanwhile poor weather in Moscow is delaying zero-G training for the flight. In the last week only one weightless flight on the Tu-104 was possible - and a minimum of 24 flights need to be flown before the launch. It was therefore decided to ferry one Tu-104 to Tyuratam and train the cosmonauts here - it made its first flight today.

1966 November 20 - .

Soyuz first flight plan - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Feoktistov, Khrunov, Komarov, Pravetskiy, Rudenko, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.
Feoktistov briefs the State Commission on the flight plan for the upcoming mission at 10:00. Each spacecraft will be in space for four days, and will demonstrate orbital manoeuvre, rendezvous and automatic spacecraft docking. If the passive vehicle can be placed in orbit within 20 kilometres of the previously launched active spacecraft, then docking can be accomplished on the first or second orbit of passive vehicle. If they are more than 20 kilometres apart, then 24 hours will be needed to manoeuvre the spacecraft to a rendezvous. Kamanin and Rudenko take a zero-G flight aboard the Tu-104 (Pravetskiy was bumped at the airfield "due to space limitations"). The Tu-104 needs good visibility of the horizon in order to fly the zero-G parabola. The aircraft is accelerated to maximum speed and then pulls up into a sharp climb (going from 7,000 to 10,000 m). At the end of the climb 20-25 seconds of weightlessness is available for training the cosmonauts. Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov and Yeliseyev are aboard today. Khrunov practiced moving from the BO living module of the passive vehicle to that of the active spacecraft. Yeliseyev practiced exiting and entering the BO hatches with his bulky spacesuit and 50- kilogram ECS system strapped to his leg.
Mishin receives an encrypted telegram from Okhapkin and Tsybin. They propose that one of the cosmonauts on the first mission will back away from the docked spacecraft on a 10-m long safety line and film the other cosmonaut moving from one spacecraft to the other. Kamanin believes only Khrunov (with more than 50 Tu-104 weightless flights), has enough training to accomplish the task. After a sauna with Rudenko and an attempt to watch a film (aborted due to projector failure), Kamanin takes a walk in a drizzly, evocative night. He visits the cottages used by Korolev and the cosmonauts for the first missions. A light burns in Korolev's cottage - Mishin is working late. Kamanin recalls his many confrontations with Korolev, but also remembers how well he managed people compared to Mishin. Even if he had already decided personally what to do, he took the time to listen to other opinions and everyone felt their views had been considered.

1966 November 21 - .

Soyuz crews agreed officially - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Bykovsky, Feoktistov, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Kamanin, Kerimov, Khrunov, Komarov, Kubasov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Rudenko, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-LOK, Soyuz 7K-OK.
The weather continues to deteriorate, and Kamanin considers moving the Tu-104 and cosmonauts to Krasnovodsk in order to get the 24 necessary zero-G flights before launch. At 11:00 the State Commission meets at Area 31. Present are Kerimov, Mishin, Rudenko, Kamanin, Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Yeliseyev, Anokhin and others. Mishin describes the status of preparations of Soyuz s/n 1, 2, 3, 4 for launch. He notes that the L1 and L3 lunar spacecraft are derived from the 7K-OK, and that these flights will prove the spacecraft technology as well as the rendezvous and docking techniques necessary for subsequent manned lunar missions. Feoktistov and the OKB-1 engineers say a launch cannot occur before 15 January, but Mishin insists on 25 December. That will leave only 20 days for cosmonaut training for the mission, including the spacewalk to 10 m away from the docked spacecraft. Faced with the necessity for the crews to train together as a team prior to flight, Mishin at long last officially agrees to the crew composition for the flights: Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, and Yeliseyev as prime crews, with Gagarin, Nikolayev, Gorbatko, and Kubasov as back-ups. However a new obstacle appears. KGB Colonel Dushin reports that Yeliseyev goes by his mother's surname. His father, Stanislav Adamovich Kureytis , was a Lithuanian sentenced to five years in 1935 for anti-Soviet agitation. He currently works in Moscow as Chief of the laboratory of the Central Scientific Research Institute of the Shoe Industry. Furthermore Yeliseyev had a daughter in 1960, but subsequently annulled the marriage in 1966.
Later Feoktistov works with the crews on spacecraft s/n 1 to determine the feasibility of the 10-m EVA. The cosmonauts suggest a telescoping pole rather than a line be used to enable the cosmonaut to be in position to film the joined spacecraft. Bushuyev is tasked with developing the new hardware.

1966 November 22 - .

Crash efforts to make manned Soyuz flight by end of December - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Kubasov, Mishin, Rudenko, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A.
Faced with the possibility Yeliseyev will be bumped from the crew, Mishin requests accelerated training of Kubasov as a substitute. Kamanin asks the KGB for a definitive ruling on Yeliseyev's fitness. It will only be possible to meet a 25-29 December manned flight date by curtailing certain tests and supplementing the existing preparation and test staff with about 100 military staff from the Tyuratam range and 50 additional industrial technicians. Rudenko and Mishin have backed away from the agreement on the "final" crew compositions. Now they propose to assign as second cosmonauts the best two of Khrunov, Yeliseyev, and Kubasov. Kamanin adamantly opposes this latest deviation to plan.

1966 November 24 - .

Apollo program delays give Soviets opportunity to leapfrog Americans - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Khrunov, Komarov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz, Voskhod. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4, Soyuz s/n 5/6, Soyuz s/n 7, Voskhod 3. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Voskhod.
Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, and Yeliseyev have completed zero-G training in the Tu-104 at Tyuratam, and need to get back to Moscow to complete simulator training. But continued bad weather at Moscow means that they will have to be flown by Il-14 to Gorkiy, and then get to Moscow by train. Kamanin notes reports on NASA's reorganised flight program for the Apollo program. Under the new schedule, the first attempt at a manned lunar landing will be possible in the first half of 1968. The first manned flight of the Apollo CSM has slipped from December 1966 to the first quarter of 1967. This makes it possible that the Soviets can make 3 to 5 manned spaceflights before the first Apollo flight - the flights of Soyuz s/n 3 and 4 in December 1966, Voskhod 3 in January 1967, and Soyuz s/n 3 and 4 in February 1967.

1966 December 7 - .

Soyuz and L1 crew assignments. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Grechko, Kerimov, Khrunov, Komarov, Kubasov, Leonov, Makarov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Rudenko, Shatalov, Volkov, Volynov, Yeliseyev, Yershov. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 2, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 3, Soyuz s/n 3/4, Soyuz s/n 5/6, Soyuz s/n 7. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK.
Rudenko, Mishin, Kerimov and Kamanin agree on crews for upcoming flights. Komarov, Bykovsky, Khrunov, and Yeliseyev are assigned to Soyuz s/n 3 and 4; Gagarin, Nikolayev, Gorbatko, and Kubasov to Soyuz s/n 5 and 6, with Beregovoi, Shatalov, Volkov, and Makarov trained as back-ups. For Soyuz s/n 7, which will conduct space welding experiments with the Vulkan furnace, the commander will be either Komarov, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Nikolayev, Beregovoi, or Shatalov. The other two crewmembers will be either Lankin and Fartushniy from the Paton Institute, VVS cosmonaut Kolodin, or an engineer from OKB-1.
Crews for the L1 must be named in order to complete the five-month training program in time. Eight L1's are being completed to the manned configuration, but Mishin believes it is necessary to plan for only six manned missions. It is decided to train nine crews. Spacecraft commanders will be Komarov, Bykovsky, Nikolayev, Gagarin, Leonov, Khrunov, Volynov, Beregovoi, and Shatalov. Flight engineers will be Yeliseyev, Kubasov, Makarov, Volkov, and Grechko. Komarov, Bykovsky or Nikolayev will command the first circumlunar flight. Mishin promises to name the OKB-1 candidates for that flight by 8 December. Mishin and Kerimov agree that training of cosmonaut- researchers from the Academy of Sciences may begin, although both Mishin and Rudenko expressed doubts about cosmonaut candidate Yershov.
The failures of Cosmos 133 have been narrowed to entangled thrust vector vanes in the main engines and a single defective approach and orientation thruster. It is agreed to set the unmanned launch of Soyuz s/n 1 for 18 December as a final functional check of all systems. If this is successful, the date will then be set for the manned launch of Soyuz s/n 3 and 4. Flight control will be conducted from Yevpatoria.

1966 December 31 - . Launch Vehicle: N1.

18 cosmonauts in lunar training - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Belousov, Bykovsky, Dobrovolsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Gubarev, Gulyayev, Khrunov, Kolesnikov, Kolodin, Komarov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Volynov, Voronov, Zholobov. Program: Lunar L1. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-LOK. Gagarin, Komarov, Nikolayev, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Voronov, Kolodin, Popovich, Gubarev, Artyukhin, Gylyayev, Belousov, Kolesnikov, Volynov, Doborvolsky, Zhobolov..

1967 Early - .

Voskhod 6 (cancelled) - . Crew: Khrunov, Voronov. Backup Crew: Gorbatko, Kolodin. Support Crew: Matinchenko, Zaikin. Payload: Voskhod 3KD. Nation: Russia. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 6. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod. Planned Voskhod flight that would include EVA with test of the UPMK 'jet belt'. Cancelled in spring 1966..

1967 January 17 - .

Manned space plans reviewed - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Belyayev, Beregovoi, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Grechko, Khrunov, Klimuk, Kolodin, Komarov, Kubasov, Leonov, Makarov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rukavishnikov, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Volkov, Volynov, Voronov, Yeliseyev. Program: Lunar L1, Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK. At a meeting of the VPK Military-Industrial Commission and Chief Designers current manned space plans are reviewed.. Additional Details: here....

1967 April - .

Soyuz 2A (cancelled) - . Crew: Bykovsky, Khrunov, Yeliseyev. Backup Crew: Gorbatko, Kubasov, Nikolayev. Nation: Russia. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.
The first manned Soyuz flights were an attempt at an 'all up' manned rendezvous, docking, and crew transfer spectacular (eventually accomplished by Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5). Komarov was the pilot for the Soyuz 1 active spacecraft, which would be launched first. Soyuz 2, with the crew of Bykovsky, Khrunov, and Yeliseyev would launch the following day, with Khrunov and Yeliseyev space-walking to Soyuz 1 and returning to earth with Komarov. Komarov's spacecraft developed serious problems after launch, including the failure of one of the spacecraft's solar panels to deploy. The Soyuz 2 crew were given the order to rendezvous with Soyuz 1 and to try during the planned EVA to unfold the undeployed solar panel. But the launch of Soyuz 2 was cancelled due to heavy rain at the cosmodrome. Low on power and battery reserves, Komarov made an attempt to land the following day. Parachute failure led to the crash of Soyuz 1 and the death of Komarov. After the disaster the Soyuz 2 spacecraft was checked, and the parachute system had the same technical failure. If Soyuz 2 had launched, the docking may have been successful, but then both spacecraft would have crashed on landing, killing four cosmonauts instead of one.

1967 October 15 - .

Meeting on crew selections for the L3 program. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Kubasov, Kuznetsov, Nikolai F, Leonov, Makarov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rukavishnikov, Voronov. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-LOK.
Attending are Kuznetsov, Gagarin, Khlebnikov. There are three training groups: Soyuz, L1, and L3. Mishin and the MOM are holding up further training of cosmonauts until the VVS agrees to accept Mishin's candidates from TsKBEM. In any case, Mishin's attitude is that 'automation in space is everything. Humans in space are only supposed to monitor the operation of automated systems'. L3 cosmonauts selected by the VVS are: Leonov, Bykovsky, Nikolayev, Popovich, Voronov, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Artyukhin, Kubasov, Makarov, and Rukavishnikov. The official requirements: balanced composition of a crew according to mass requirements (no more than 70 kg weight per cosmonaut), and the ability to monitor fully automated function of the L3. According to official documents, the crew's primary function is to guide the flight, but now Mishin intends that their primary role will be as subjects of psychological and physical observations to establish the adaptation of the human organism to space flight).

1968 May 20 - .

Tests to evaluate feasibility of '1+2' Soyuz mission profile. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Feoktistov, Khrunov, Volynov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.
Volynov conducts tests in a pressurised suit to see if it is possible to go from the SA capsule to the BO living module in a two-man crew transfer scenario. He shows it is not possible - exit from the SA to the BO is very unsafe, there is a good chance of getting stuck in the hatch. This shows it would be difficult or impossible for the spacecraft commander in the SA to go to the assistance of a single cosmonaut attempting to transfer from one Soyuz to another. Feoktistov proposes another alternative - launch of 3 cosmonauts in one Soyuz, one cosmonaut in another. After docking, a single cosmonaut would transfer from one Soyuz to another, but at least a second cosmonaut would be in the BO to assist him in case of difficulties. Two cosmonauts would return in each Soyuz capsule, meeting the reserve parachute mass limitations. This solution also takes care of a problem with the 1+2 scenario, in that it implied a crew consisting of Khrunov and Yeliseyev, but neither has been trained as a spacecraft commander. A crew could consist of Volynov and one of these, but then the problem is that no spacesuit has been fabricated for Volynov, and it requires two months to make one.

1968 May 22 - .

Mishin pushes for '1+2' Soyuz mission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Mishin, Titov. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.
Titov is to tour. He will spend the next two days in Semipalatinsk, then go to Italy in the first week of June. He has been offered command of the second unit at TsPK, but says he doesn't want to be an administrator. He would rather pursue a career as a test pilot, at either OKB MiG or GNIKI VVS. Mishin is now pushing for a 1+2 Soyuz mission in August on safety grounds. He is also still pushing Khrunov as a spacecraft commander, even though Khrunov has no training in manual docking and it would take at least two months to train and qualify him.

1968 May 29 - .

Further tests to evaluate feasibility of '1+2' Soyuz mission profile. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Mishin, Ustinov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.
Khrunov tries to don the Yastreb space suit unassisted, in another test of the feasibility of a 1+2 Soyuz mission. He simply cannot accomplish the task in the four minute maximum time required. Mishin now has Ustinov interested in his 1+2 mission, with Yeliseyev to make a solo EVA from one Soyuz to another.

1968 October 5 - .

Soyuz 4/5 zero-G training - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Shonin, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 4, Soyuz 4/5, Soyuz 5. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.
Shonin, Khrunov, and Yeliseyev are in zero-G training aboard the Tu-104 aircraft. The cabin is outfitted with two partial Soyuz mock-ups. In space their EVA between two spacecraft is expected to take one hour and forty minutes, but they can only experience 20 to 25 seconds of weightlessness at a time in the aircraft. The 18 staff aboard the Tu-104 have parachutes in case of a serious problem with the aircraft, but it would take 32 seconds for all of them to jump from the three hatches on the aircraft. Meanwhile the pilot cosmonauts are only flying 50 to 60 hours per year, instead of the 150 to 200 hours that Kamanin had requested.

1968 December 15 - .

Cosmonauts graduate. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Kuznetsova, Leonov, Nikolayev, Ponomaryova, Popovich, Shonin, Solovyova, Tereshkova, Titov, Volynov, Yerkina, Zaikin.
Nikolayev, Leonov, Popovich, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Zaikin, Volynov, and Shonin all receive their diplomas from the Zhukovskiy Test Pilot Engineering Academy. Khrunov graduates with honours. All of them began training for a lunar landing on January 8. Titov and Gagarin will complete their studies for the diploma in May. Ponomareva and Solovyova willl graduate in the second half of 1968, leaving only Tereshkova, Kuznetsova, and Yerkina. Tereshkova has had her appendix removed in surgery at the Vishevskiy Centre. The surgery went well.

1968 December 17 - .

The crews take their final examinations to qualify for the Soyuz 4/5 flights. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Gorbatko, Khrunov, Kuznetsov, Shatalov, Shonin, Volynov. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 4, Soyuz 4/5, Soyuz 5. Spacecraft: Yastreb.
All pass. Volynov, Shatalov, and Khrunov do best; Gorbatko and Shonin make mistakes (for example stating that the spacesuit pressure is 35 atmospheres instead of 3.5 atmospheres). Kuznetsov had planned for Gagarin to be cosmonaut commander, and Beregovoi has been poorly prepared for the job. But he still plans to make Beregovoi his deputy in the position. The other cosmonauts bitterly oppose this decision, and spread stories of Beregovoi's incompetence.

1968 December 24 - .

Cosmonauts ponder loss of the moon race - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Shatalov, Shonin, Ustinov, Volynov, Yeliseyev. Program: Apollo, Lunar L1. Flight: Apollo 8.
The Soyuz 4 and 5 crews arrive at Tyuratam aboard an An-24. They work with their spacesuits at Area 31 until 23:00. On the bus back to the sleeping quarters Kamanin tells them of Ustinov's 'recommendation' that they do an automatic docking. They are against it, argue for a manual docking. If allowing enough time for the crew of the active spacecraft to adapt to zero-G is the issue, they propose switching the launch order of the active and passive spacecraft. This alternative is ruled out - it is too late and risky to modify the flight programs. Shatalov bursts out - 'Here we are debating this for the tenth time, while he Americans are orbiting the moon'. They call for the bus to stop. They exit out into the icy clear night and look at the moon. Thoughts came of the nine comrades who had died trying to put the USSR first to the moon, all to no avail.

1969 January 15 - . 07:04 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC1. LV Family: R-7. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511.

Soyuz 5 - . Call Sign: Baikal (Baikal - lake in Siberia). Crew: Khrunov, Volynov, Yeliseyev. Backup Crew: Filipchenko, Gorbatko, Kubasov. Payload: Soyuz 7K-OK (P) s/n 13. Mass: 6,585 kg (14,517 lb). Nation: Russia. Agency: MOM. Program: Soyuz. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Soyuz 4/5, Soyuz 5. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK. Duration: 3.04 days. Decay Date: 1969-01-18 . USAF Sat Cat: 3656 . COSPAR: 1969-005A. Apogee: 212 km (131 mi). Perigee: 196 km (121 mi). Inclination: 51.70 deg. Period: 88.60 min.
At 3 am an An-12 arrives from Moscow with ten newspapers, and letters for Shatalov, to be delivered by the Soyuz 5 crew to him as the first 'space mail'. At 05:15 the State Commission convened and approved launch at 10:04:30. The countdown proceeds normally; meanwhile communications sessions are held with Shatalov on Soyuz 4. The commission is taken by automobile convoy from Area 2, to Area 17, where the Soyuz 5 crew declares itself ready for flight. At T-25 minutes, with the crew already aboard the spacecraft, a piece of electrical equipment fails and needs to be replaced. Engineer-Captain Viktor Vasilyevich Alyeshin goes to the fuelled booster and replaces it. While doing this he notices that the access hatch has been secured with only three bolts, instead of the four required. Nevertheless the launch proceeds successfully. After Soyuz 5 is in orbit, it and Soyuz 4 begin their mutual series of manoeuvres for rendezvous and docking. Officially the flight conducted scientific, technical and medico-biological research, checking and testing of onboard systems and design elements of space craft, docking of piloted space craft and construction of an experimental space station, transfer of cosmonauts from one craft to another in orbit.

1969 January 16 - . 12:43 GMT - .

EVA Soyuz 4/5-1 - . Crew: Khrunov, Yeliseyev. EVA Duration: 0.0257 days. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Soyuz 4, Soyuz 4/5, Soyuz 5. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.
A day after the launch of Soyuz 5, Soyuz 4 docked with it. The Soyuz 4 active spacecraft was equipped with a long docking probe, designated 'Shtir'. The Soyuz 5 target spacecraft was equipped with the 'Konus' receptacle. The symbology lead Volynov to joke that he 'was being raped' when the hard docking was accomplished. Khrunov and Yeliseyev transferred to and returned in Soyuz 4, the feat they had hoped to accomplish in the cancelled Soyuz 2 flight almost two years earlier. The external crew transfer was also a test of the technique needed for the Soviet lunar landing.

1969 January 17 - .

Landing of Soyuz 4 - . Return Crew: Khrunov, Shatalov, Yeliseyev. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Shatalov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 4, Soyuz 4/5.
Soyuz 4 landed at 06:51 GMT 48 km south-west of Karaganda, 40 km from the planned point, with the crew of Khrunov, Shatalov and Yeliseyev aboard. Shatalov's performance has been outstanding -- all manoeuvres were made correctly with minimal expenditure of propellant. The soft landing system performed well, in temperatures of -30 deg C and in 60 to 80 cm of snow. The first recovery helicopter reached the capsule only five minutes after touchdown. 25 minutes later the crew is on a helicopter, on their way to the airfield at Karaganda. The crew is given a medical examination at the Hotel Chaika and then taken downstairs for a press conference. At 16:45 they board an An-24, bound for Tyuratam.

1969 January 22 - .

American looks likely to win moon race - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Khrunov, Korolev, Mishin, Shatalov, Smirnov, Ustinov, Volynov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Apollo 8, Soyuz 4, Soyuz 4/5, Soyuz 5.
Kamanin and four cosmonauts return to Moscow from Tyuratam aboard an Il-18. It has been nearly nine years since Gagarin's flight, and now America looks like the winner of the space race, with the successful flight of Apollo 8 around the moon. Kamanin attributes the loss to the mistakes made by Ustinov and Smirnov in the erratic management of the Soviet program, coupled with the insistence of Korolev and Mishin to develop completely automated spacecraft that do not require intervention by the cosmonaut.

1969 January 23 - .

Cosmonauts shot at in assassination attempt - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Brezhnev, Feoktistov, Khrunov, Nikolayev, Shatalov, Volynov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 4, Soyuz 4/5, Soyuz 5.
The assassination attempt is made on Brezhnev, instead hitting the cosmonaut's car, on the way to the Kremlin. A muted press conference follows. All the cosmonauts are there, except Feoktistov, who is on honeymoon with his second wife, and Nikolyaev, who has the Hong Kong flu.

1969 January 28 - .

Soyuz 4/5 crew feted - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Shatalov, Volynov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 4, Soyuz 4/5, Soyuz 5. The last few days have been occupied with daily press conferences or meetings with the state leadership by the Soyuz 4/5 crews..

1969 June 18 - . Launch Vehicle: N1.

Mishin and Kamanin select candidates for the lunar landing mission. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Bykovsky, Khrunov, Leonov, Makarov, Mishin, Patsayev, Rukavishnikov, Voronov, Yeliseyev. Program: Lunar L3.
They are Leonov, Bykovsky, Voronov, Khrunov, Yeliseyev, Makarov, Rukavishnikov, and Patsayev. Mishin expects a landing by the end of 1970; Kamanin thinks this is impossible. Afanasyev and Mishin propose modernisation of the N1, but this will take three to four years, by which time the booster will be essentially obsolete. The second launch of the N1 is set for 3 July. It would be a welcome miracle if it flew, but it still would not be enough to erase the American lead in the moon race.

1969 August 21 - .

Final crew selections are made for the Soyuz 6, 7, 8 flights. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Kuklin, Nikolayev, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Yeliseyev. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 6, Soyuz 7, Soyuz 8. Sevastyanov and Nikolayev did poorly on the final test for the 7/6 crew. Therefore Shatalov and Yeliseyev have been selected. Khrunov has been in an auto accident, and Kuklin didn't pass his centrifuge tests - so they're out as well..

1969 October 27 - .

Cosmonauts tours. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Feoktistov, Khrunov, Popovich, Tereshkova, Titov. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 6, Soyuz 7, Soyuz 8.
Kamanin assigns cosmonauts to upcoming foreign propaganda tours. Beregovoi and Feoktistov are to go to the United States, Tereshkova to Hungary, Popovich to France, Khrunov to Odessa. Titov will not be given this privilege because of his numerous automobile accidents, run-ins with the militia, and motorcycle habit.

1969 November - .

Soyuz n 17 (cancelled) - . Crew: Khrunov, Yeliseyev. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Yeliseyev. Program: Lunar L3. Flight: Soyuz n 17. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz Kontakt.
The Kontakt system designed for the lunar orbit rendezvous and docking of the LOK lunar orbiter and LK lunar lander was to be mounted on two Soyuz spacecraft and tested in earth orbit. These flights were continuously delayed after the success of Apollo 11 and finally cancelled.

1970 April 23 - .

Mishin proposes crews for Soyuz 10 and 11. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Feoktistov, Khrunov, Kolodin, Kubasov, Mishin, Patsayev, Rukavishnikov, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Shonin, Volkov, Volynov, Yeliseyev. Program: Salyut. Flight: Soyuz 10, Soyuz 11.
Two months after first raising the issue, Mishin has proposed crews for the flights to the DOS station, still planned to occur before the end of the year. Mishin is still pushing Feoktistov, who Kamanin believes is not only seriously ill, but immoral, being on his second wife. Kamanin now has 20 spacecraft crews, but they will have to wait six years or more for a trip to space at the current mission rate. Mishin's proposed DOS crews are as follows: 1 - Shatalov, Yeliseyev, Rukavishnikov; 2 - Shonin, Kubasov, Kolodin; 3 - Volynov, Feoktistov, Patsayev; 4 - Khrunov, Volkov, Sevastyanov.

1970 November 17 - .

Indecision on DOS profile; Almaz station accelerated. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Kutakhov, Mishin, Shatalov, Volynov, Yeliseyev. Program: Almaz, Salyut. Spacecraft: Almaz OPS, Salyut 1.
It is decided to send only Volynov and Khrunov to the FAI Congress in India. Shatalov and Yeliseyev are too busy with training on the DOS-7K simulator. Luna 17 has landed on the moon with the Lunokhod lunar rover, another success. DOS#1 is behind schedule for the planned 5 February 1971 launch. It still has not been decided, which will launch first - Soyuz 10 or the DOS station. Such indecision makes it very difficult to train the crews! The simulators for Soyuz, L3, DOS, and Almaz are all now in full use for crew training. Kamanin discusses with engineers construction of a pool for EVA training (25 m wide and 12 m deep). Kutakahov is opposed to the project. Chelomei has been ordered to accelerate the first Almaz launch to 1972, if he can resist the continuous attacks by Mishin. Mishin has become very accomplished, on the N1/L3 program, in spending huge amounts of money with no result.

1971 February 8 - .

Repercussions of Shonin incident. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov, Kubasov, Mishin, Rukavishnikov, Shonin, Yeliseyev. Program: Salyut.
Kamanin has a meeting with Leonov and Shonin on the KIS incident. Shonin claims he was sober. Mishin calls. He says Khrunov and Shonin were not ready for training anyway; they had to be led by the nose the whole time. He would prefer that Yeliseyev, Kubasov, and Rukavishnikov be assigned to the mission.

1971 June 16 - .

Soyuz 11 Day 11 - fire aboard the station. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Chelomei, Dobrovolsky, Khrunov, Mishin, Nikolayev, Patsayev, Popovich, Sevastyanov, Shatalov, Volkov, Volynov. Program: Salyut, Almaz. Flight: Soyuz 11. Spacecraft: Almaz OPS, Salyut 1, Soyuz 7KT-OK, Soyuz OB-VI, Soyuz VI.
Kamanin is to fly back to Yevpatoriya in the afternoon. Chelomei is often ill lately -- Mishin is using the opportunity to lobby Ustinov and Smirnov to kill Almaz, and increase the DOS-7K order from four to ten. Mishin killed Kozlov's Soyuz VI in a similar manner. Prior to his departure, the cosmonauts brief Kamanin on the results of the visits of Popovich and Sevastyanov to France, and Khrunov to the USA. Kamanin is having trouble with the leadership in allowing Volynov to be assigned to another crew.
As Kamanin is on the way to the airport, a serious situation develops aboard the station. At 13:00 the cosmonauts report a strong burning smell, and smoke in the station. The crew evacuates the station and retreat to the Soyuz lifeboat. Forty minutes later, just as Kamanin is boarding the Tu-104, Shatalov reports that the mission will continue, but the situation aboard the station is not comfortable. The crew has turned off the primary oxygen regenerator and exchanged the filters of the oxygen supply and reserve regenerator. At 14:05 Kamanin finally boards the aircraft, which takes off and sets course for the Crimea. At 14:30 they are ordered to turn around and land at Chkalovksy Airfield outside Moscow. The whole thing turns out to be a banal mistake by one of the officers at an air traffic control station! They lose two hours in the process. No information is available when the Tu-104 finally lands at Saki, since Nikolayev and the other cosmonauts who attended the emergency meetings had taken off to return to Moscow three hours earlier. Kamanin finally arrives at Yevpatoriya at 23:00, in time for a comms session with Dobrovolsky and Patsayev (Volkov is sleeping). The Soyuz 11 crew reports that the training suits are very tiring. Dobrovolsky reports all is now normal otherwise. He requests permission to continue the flight. Bykovsky reports that the situation on the station is now stable. There is no more smoke or burning smell, but the crew has been overloaded in the last six hours. They have done a lot of work with no food or rest. The situation was so bad at one point that preparations had been made for undocking the Soyuz for an emergency return to earth.

1980 September 18 - . 19:11 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC1. LV Family: R-7. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz-U.

Soyuz 38 - . Call Sign: Taimyr (Taimyr - Russian peninsula). Crew: Romanenko, Tamayo Mendez. Backup Crew: Khrunov, Lopez Falcon. Payload: Soyuz 7K-T s/n 54. Mass: 6,800 kg (14,900 lb). Nation: Russia. Agency: MOM. Program: Salyut 6. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Soyuz 35, Soyuz 38. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-T. Duration: 7.86 days. Decay Date: 1980-09-26 . USAF Sat Cat: 11977 . COSPAR: 1980-075A. Apogee: 257 km (159 mi). Perigee: 195 km (121 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 89.00 min. Manned two crew. Docked with Salyut 6. Transported to the Salyut-6 station the seventh international crew under the INTERCOSMOS programme, comprising Y V Romanenko (USSR) and A. Tomaio Mendez (Cuba), to conduct scientific research and experiments..

2000 May 19 - .

Cosmonaut Yevgeni Vassilyevich Khrunov dies at age of 66 -- Suddenly, of natural causes. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Khrunov. Russian pilot cosmonaut 1960-1980. Member of first crew to transfer between spacecraft. 1 spaceflight, 2.0 days in space. Flew to orbit on Soyuz 5 (1969)..

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