Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov | |
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Vladislav Volkov
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Cosmonaut | |
Nationality | Soviet |
Born |
Moscow, Soviet Union |
November 23, 1935
Died | June 30, 1971 Outer space |
(aged 35)
Other occupation
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Engineer |
Time in space
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28d 17h 01m |
Selection | Civilian Specialist Group 2, 1966 |
Missions | Soyuz 7, Soyuz 11 |
Mission insignia
|
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Awards |
Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov (Russian: Владисла́в Никола́евич Во́лков; November 23, 1935 – June 30, 1971) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 11 missions. The second mission terminated fatally.
Volkov graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute, 1959. As an aviation engineer at Korolyov Design Bureau, he was involved in the development of the Vostok and Voskhod spacecraft prior to his selection as a cosmonaut. He flew aboard Soyuz 7 in 1969.
Volkov, on his second space mission in 1971, was assigned to Soyuz 11. The three cosmonauts on this flight spent 23 days on Salyut 1, the world's first space station. After three relatively placid weeks in orbit, however, Soyuz 11 became the second Soviet space flight to terminate fatally, after Soyuz 1.
After a normal re-entry, the Soyuz 11 capsule was opened and the corpses of the three crew members were found inside. It was discovered that a valve had opened just prior to leaving orbit that had allowed the capsule's atmosphere to vent away into space, causing Volkov and his two flight companions to suffer fatal hypoxia as their cabin descended toward the earth's atmosphere.
Vladislav Volkov was decorated twice as the Hero of the Soviet Union (first on October 22, 1969 and posthumously on June 30, 1971). He was also awarded the two Orders of Lenin and the title of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.
The lunar crater Volkov and the minor planet 1790 Volkov are named in his honor. A street in Moscow is named after him.
A delicious tomato variety from Ukraine was named Cosmonaut Volkov in his memory by his friend the space scientist and gardener Mikhailovich Maslov.