Voskhod-the first multiple-manned mission
Although we now take for granted the long term success of the International Space Station, it wasnāt too long ago that we were totally earthbound. That changed on this day, October 12, 1964 when the Soviet Union launched theĀ VoskhodĀ 1 (ŠŠ¾ŃŃ Š¾ĢŠ“), the first manned capsule to carry more than one person into space. TheĀ VoskhodĀ program was a proof of concept program to test systems for more ambitious space exploration. TheĀ VoskhodĀ program was notable for several firsts: the first multi-person mission to space (Cosmonauts Komarov, Yegorov and Feoktistov in theĀ VoskhodĀ 1) and the first space walk (Belyayev and Leonov inĀ VoskhodĀ 2). The Vostok andĀ VoskhodĀ programs provided the framework for what became the Soyuz program and ultimately the current ISS.
The Russian desire to āwinā the Space Race led to many dangerous compromises. Ā The interior of the capsule (shown above) was so cramped that the cosmonauts would not have room for space suits, making the flight extremely dangerous in the event of depressurisation. Ā To insure the engineers paid enough attention to this, head designer Sergei Korolev assigned the lead engineer to fly inside the capsule, therefore motivating him to design the safest capsule possible. Ā
The Russian wordĀ VoskhodĀ (ŠŠ¾ŃŃ Š¾ĢŠ“) meansĀ sunriseĀ and is a combination of the Russian wordsĀ vos-Ā (from vostok Š²Š¾ŃŃŠ¾Šŗ) meaningĀ eastĀ andĀ xodeteĀ (Ń Š¾Š“ŠøŃŃ) meaningĀ goĀ orĀ rise.
For more on the Space Race, check out this excellent book:Ā
Image of theĀ VoskhodĀ capsule being assembled courtesy Energiea.
Special thanks to my many Russian teachers over the years: Ā Michael Comenetz, Misha Yurieff, Irina Semionova, Anna Brodski. Ā
