Yuri Gagarin: Backup Pilot
After achieving international fame as the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin fought to get back into orbit. But, as a national hero, the Soviet government seemed to consider him too valuable to risk sending up a second time.
Still, Gagarin continued to try. In 1967, he was finally given an assignment—as backup pilot—for the first manned mission of the Soyuz spacecraft.
Soyuz 1 crash site
The pilot of the flight would be Vladimir Komarov. This mission would make Komarov the first cosmonaut to go into space twice. Gagarin would be on the ground, helping out.
But there were problems. Soyuz was not ready to fly. It was plagued with a large number of technical problems. Still, the Politburo demanded a launch, in part to commemorate Mayday. Both Gagarin and Komarov realized that the pilot of Soyuz 1 would probably die. Komarov reportedly said, “If I don’t make this flight, they’ll send the backup pilot instead. That’s (Yuri), and he’ll die instead of me.”
Soyuz 1 was not supposed to be simply a solo mission. The plan was to launch Soyuz 2 shortly afterward, and have two cosmonauts spacewalk over from Soyuz 2 to Soyuz 1—and return to earth in that spacecraft with Komarov. But, before Soyuz 2 could be launched, serious problems with Soyuz 1 become clear. Komarov was in trouble.
One of the solar panels of the spacecraft failed to deploy. This not only reduced the available power; it also changed the behavior of the spacecraft. It was harder to fly, and a great deal of fuel was used to simply stabilize the spacecraft.
On April 24th, after less than a day in space, the Russians decided to bring Soyuz 1 home. Gagarin relayed instructions to his friend and fellow cosmonaut.
Unfortunately, the craft was doomed. The parachutes failed to deploy properly and the spacecraft hit the ground at high speed, killing Komarov.
This was devastating. The Soviets wouldn’t launch another cosmonaut for 18 months. Gagarin got that assignment—as commander of Soyuz 3.
Sadly, Gagarin died in a plane crash on my 11th birthday, March 27, 1968. He was buried in the Kremlin wall—near Komarov. Gagarin was dead, but also immortal.
