No spacesuits for this spaceflight!

On this day in 1964, the first multi-manned spacecraft, Voskhod 1, was launched. But lo! The cosmonauts aboard weren’t even wearing spacesuits...

Soviet doctor Boris Yegorov undergoes a medical check-up at the Soviet Space Center prior to his history-making space flight, on October 12, 1964, as a crew-member of the Russian three-man space craft.

We saw last week that by the start of October in 1957, the space race had well and truly begun. The Soviet Union had launched the world’s first artificial satellite, signalling their rise and supremacy in the chase. Within a year, NASA was formed and the Americans had their own slew of initiatives. The years that followed were filled with a number of firsts pertaining to space.

The one that we will revisit today is that of Voskhod (Russian for Sunrise) 1, which, as was the trend then, also has a list of firsts to its name. Launched on October 12, 1964, Voskhod 1 achieved the manned spacecraft altitude record of 336 km. It was the first multi-manned spaceflight and the composition of the crew implied that it was the first to carry either an engineer or a physician into outer space.

Vostok and Voskhod

Yuri Gagarin had achieved the first human spaceflight in history aboard the Vostok spacecraft in 1961. The Voskhod spacecraft was in fact a modified version of the Vostok, with technical improvements providing a backup, solid-fuel retrorocket that was added onto the top of the descent module.

Initially designed for two cosmonauts, the Soviet politburo decided to push for three in the end. This meant that the ejection seat was replaced by a three-crew couch in the interior. The cramped, squeezed conditions of the insides meant that the crew had to make do without spacesuits. In fact, the chosen cosmonauts had to go on a diet to fit in the couches.

Modified re-entry The removal of the ejection seat, however, meant that the re-entry procedure had to be modified. While those in the Vostok series had to parachute from their spacecraft, the cosmonauts of the Voskhod had to use a combination of drogues (special parachutes) and retrorockets to make a hard surface landing while they remained inside.

At 0730 GMT on the morning of October 12, Voskhod 1 was launched with a three-man crew that included Commander Vladimir M. Komarov, engineer Konstantin P. Feoktistov, and doctor Boris B. Yegorov. After 16 orbits around the Earth and 24 hours and 17 minutes from the time they left, they made their landing safely.

The flight might have been planned for a longer duration, but ground control ordered them back with a cryptic note: “There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy” - a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But the fact that the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev was removed from power during the spaceflight or the cramped conditions of the space capsule could be possible explanations for the early return.

Valuable biomedical data Voskhod 1 was a success and collected a large amount of scientific data, including significant biomedical information.

Assigned to monitor the physical conditions of his fellow crew members, Yegorov could record brain waves, measure blood pressure, test muscle coordination and even collect blood samples while in orbit around the Earth.

The success didn’t go unnoticed of course, for it was carried out just months before the Americans had planned their two-man flights through Project Gemini. Even James E. Webb, NASA Administrator, called the spaceflight a “significant space accomplishment.”

Reach A.S.Ganesh at ganesh.a.s@thehindu.co.in