Vladimir Komarov was a particularly talented Soviet astronaut. However, he is most remembered for his tragic death, earning the nickname “the man who fell from space.”
In 1967, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the February Revolution in Russia, Soviet astronaut Vladimir Komarov was chosen to undertake a historic journey into space. Unfortunately, the mission ended in tragedy.
Despite doubts regarding the rushed nature of the Soyuz 1 mission and the issues it faced, one thing is clear: Komarov orbited the Earth multiple times with his spacecraft, struggled to re-enter the atmosphere, and ultimately fell to the ground, dying in a horrific explosion.
Many details surrounding the events leading to this tragedy remain unclear, but there is no doubt that his death serves as a testament to the relentless space race during the Cold War.
Astronaut Komarov in 1964, a few years before his death. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).
Aspirations and a Career Linked to the Sky
Before becoming a Soviet astronaut, Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov was a boy fascinated by flying. Born in Moscow on March 16, 1927, Komarov was captivated by aviation and airplanes from a young age.
Komarov joined the Soviet Air Force at the age of 15. By 1949, he had become a pilot. Around the same time, he married Valentina Yakovlevna Kiselyova, a woman who shared his love for the sky.
He once said: “Anyone who has flown once, anyone who has piloted an aircraft will never want to part with the plane or the sky.”
Vladimir Komarov with his wife Valentina and daughter Irina in 1967. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).
In 1959, he graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. Long before that, Komarov had harbored dreams of becoming an astronaut. He was selected as one of the first 18 individuals to train in this new field.
At this time, World War II had become a distant memory, and it was evident that outer space was becoming the next battleground of the Cold War.
For Komarov, the sky seemed limitless. In 1964, he made his mark by successfully completing the Voskhod 1 mission – the first spacecraft to carry more than one person into space. Although he was not the first person to travel into space – a title belonging to Yuri Gagarin – Komarov was respected for his talent and courage.
1964 stamp commemorating Komarov’s success with the Voskhod mission.
As the 50th anniversary of the February Revolution approached, the Soviet government was determined to execute a special plan for 1967. Komarov seemed like the perfect candidate to carry out this plan.
The Man Who Fell from Space
This mission set an ambitious goal: two spacecraft would rendezvous in low Earth orbit. Komarov was to dock his spacecraft alongside the other, then conduct a spacewalk between the two ships.
Illustration of the Soyuz I spacecraft piloted by Komarov during the tragedy.
From there, the story began to take a dark turn. According to the book “Starman” published in 2011, Komarov’s Soyuz I spacecraft encountered “203 structural issues” prior to the flight.
As Komarov’s backup pilot, the famous astronaut Gagarin reportedly argued for the mission to be postponed. He even wrote a lengthy 10-page memo to Venyamin Russayev, a friend in the KGB (Soviet intelligence). However, that memo was ignored.
“Soviet designers faced political pressure for a new space feat. The Soyuz spacecraft was rushed into operation before all issues were resolved,” author Francis French wrote in “In the Shadow of the Moon.”
Soviet astronauts Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov hunting together. (Photo: Twitter).
In the dramatic retelling in “Starman,” Komarov feared he would die if he participated in the mission, yet he refused to withdraw to protect Gagarin – his backup pilot and close friend.
However, experts suggest that Gagarin’s selection as backup pilot was nominal because, after becoming the first person in space, he was regarded as a national treasure. Authorities were unlikely to assign Gagarin to any mission with risks involved.
On April 23, 1967, Komarov embarked on his fateful flight. Within 24 hours, he had orbited the Earth 16 times, but Komarov could not accomplish the mission’s final objective.
This was due to one of the solar panels that powered the spacecraft failing to open. Soviet authorities evidently canceled the launch of the second module and instructed Komarov to return to Earth.
Though possessing skilled abilities, Komarov struggled to control his spacecraft and clearly encountered difficulties when attempting to brake his descent. He needed two more orbits around the Earth before he could finally return to the atmosphere.
When reaching an altitude of 23,000 feet, Komarov’s parachute failed to deploy. It turned out that the parachute’s lines had become entangled during the spacecraft’s re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere.
Vladimir Komarov’s body turned into a charred mass during the tragedy. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).
Thus, on April 24, 1967, Komarov crashed to the ground and died in a horrific explosion, becoming the first person to lose their life in a spaceflight.
According to official records of Komarov’s last moments (from the Russian State Archive), one of the last things he said to his colleagues on the ground was: “I feel great, everything is in order.” A moment later, he added: “Thank you for transmitting all of that.”
After the fall from space, Komarov’s body was reportedly charred beyond recognition, with only his heel bones identifiable.
According to later-published diaries by Nikolai Kamanin, head of astronaut training in the Soviet space program, the Soyuz-1 crashed at a speed of 30-40 m/s, and Komarov’s body was severely deformed.
The Soviet Union did not disclose the specific cause of the issues with the Soyuz-1. Kamanin wrote in his diary that Gagarin criticized the head of the program, Vasily Mishin, for “poor understanding of the Soyuz spacecraft and its operational details, and lack of cooperation when working with astronauts during flight operations and training.” In an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, Gagarin stated that officials had ignored the concerns that astronauts had previously expressed about the Soyuz.
On April 26, 1967, the Soviet Union held a national funeral in Moscow, and Komarov’s ashes were buried at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Red Square. Komarov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The newspaper Pravda published a message from colleagues regarding Komarov’s death: “The mission of pioneers is always difficult. They tread paths that no one has explored; they are not straight but filled with sharp turns, surprises, and dangers. But anyone who has ventured into space never wants to leave it. No hardship or obstacle can deter such a man from the path he has chosen. An astronaut will always continue to challenge the universe. Vladimir Komarov was one of the first on this perilous road.”
In 1971, a memorial plaque and sculpture titled “Fallen Astronaut” was placed on the Moon in memory of Komarov and 13 astronauts from the Soviet Union and the United States who lost their lives during missions.
