The space race of the USSR and the United States of America became a side effect of the Cold War and lasted from 1957 to 1975.
The struggle for space exploration was not only of great research and scientific importance, but was also an important propaganda symbol.
Much has happened over the years: the first launch of the spacecraft, the first living creatures in space (Belka and Strelka dogs), the first manned flight, the first man in open space and on the moon.
A lot of things then happened for the first time and often the Soviet cosmonauts became the authors of the records.
Most experts agree that the end of the confrontation between the two superpowers was the joint flight of the Soyuz and Apollo ships with the subsequent docking. The astronauts visited each other's ships, which also happened for the first time.
Today we recall the bright heroes of this race, and also talk about those who flew after - the most famous astronauts of the USSR and Russia.
List
- 10. Alexander Kaleri | 769 days, 6 hours, 33 minutes in space
- 9. Valery Polyakov | 678 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes in space
- 8. Sergey Krikalev | 803 days, 9 hours, 38 minutes in space
- 7. Elena Kondakova | 178 days, 10 hours, 41 minutes in space
- 6. Gennady Padalka | 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes in space
- 5. German Titov | 1 days, 1 hours, 18 minutes in space
- 4. Anatoly Soloviev | 651 days, 3 minutes in space
- 3. Alexey Leonov | 7 days, 32 minutes in space
- 2. Valentina Tereshkova | 2 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes in space
- 1. Yuri Gagarin | 1 hour, 48 minutes in space
10. Alexander Kaleri | 769 days, 6 hours, 33 minutes in space
Alexander Kaleri graduated from the faculty of space research and astrophysics in 1979, 4 years after the end of the race.
Then he began to work in a team involved in the Mir orbital space station. He went to astronauts only 3 years later, becoming a member of the 7th set.
He received the post of test pilot, and made his first flight to the stars in 1992 on Soyuz TM-14, which went to Mir. Then he first went into outer space, having spent a total of 145 days outside the Earth.
Subsequently, Kaleri boarded the ship 4 more times, making his last flight in October 2010 as a crew commander (he returned in March 2011, the flight lasted 159 days).
In total, the duration of his expeditions is 759 days (the 5th result in history), for which he was repeatedly awarded not only in Russia, but also NASA.
9. Valery Polyakov | 678 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes in space
Soviet (and after - Russian) astronaut Valery Polyakov He spent 678 days in space and follows Kaleri on this indicator (although he was an absolute champion for 4.5 years).
The difference is that Polyakov made only 2 orbital flights: for 240 and 437 days. After the first, he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of the Legion of Honor in France and many other awards. The second one was a record at all: no one was in space longer than Valery Polyakov. This achievement brought him the title of Hero of Russia and entered into history forever.
Despite the fact that he is a doctor by profession (he was a physician and at OK Mir), craving for the stars always prevailed: some people personally acquainted with him claim that he was even ready to go to Mars with a one-way ticket, then have an irrevocable flight.
8. Sergey Krikalev | 803 days, 9 hours, 38 minutes in space
Soyuz TM-7 launched from the first site of Baikonur on November 26, 1988, carrying on board three Soviet and one French astronaut. Sergey Krikalev was the flight engineer of that team and returned with it 151 days later, having received the title of Hero of the USSR upon arrival.
Flying into space 5 more times, with a result of 803 days in space, he was a champion until 2015 (now the 2nd).
The most interesting was the second flight, which began in 1990. After spending almost 312 days at the Mir station, Krikalev returned home in March 1992. This means that he flew from the Soviet Union, and returned to Russia, immediately receiving another order of the Hero, Russian.
7. Elena Kondakova | 178 days, 10 hours, 41 minutes in space
For the first time Elena Kondakova flew into space on October 4, 1994 on the Soyuz TM-20, having spent a total of 5 months there.
2 years after returning, Kondakova became a member of the crew of the American ship Atlantis during the 6th docking with OK Mir.
She became the third female astronaut of the USSR and Russia, but already in 1999 decided to leave the profession and engage in politics. She was elected to the State Duma, which she was a deputy in 2003 from the United Russia party (she left it in 2011).
6. Gennady Padalka | 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes in space
878 days - just that much Gennady Padalka stayed in space. He is the absolute record holder in this indicator, having achieved this in 5 flights.
It all started with the Soyuz TM-28 ship, on which Padalka launched from Earth as a crew commander. His last flight took place in 2015: during it, Gennady not only set his record, but also made the 10th anniversary spacewalk, having been there for five and a half hours.
5. German Titov | 1 days, 1 hours, 18 minutes in space
German Titov He was a direct participant in the space race and could even become the first person in space, as he was the understudy of Yuri Gagarin. However, he already has enough achievements:
- The youngest astronaut in history (in August 1961, during the flight on Voskhod-2, he was 25 years and 330 days).
- The first person to make a long flight (on the Voskhod-2 ship he spent more than 24 hours in space).
- The second Soviet cosmonaut.
- The second person in history to make a suborbital flight.
- Hero of the Soviet Union.
He achieved all this in one flight, since upon returning to Earth he became an instructor.
4. Anatoly Soloviev | 651 days, 3 minutes in space
Anatoly Soloviev During its 5 expeditions, it flew 651 days, leaving as much as 16 times in outer space.
In total, he spent almost 79 hours outside the station, which is still a world record, although the last time he wore a spacesuit in 1997 (he returned in 1998). In that flight, he was the commander of OK Mir, being in the status of a Hero of the USSR.
Also Anatoly Solovyov is an experienced pilot: he has accounted for more than one and a half thousand hours at the helm, one and a half hundred parachute jumps, and the ability to control 14 types of aircraft.
3. Alexey Leonov | 7 days, 32 minutes in space
The astronaut's career occurred in the hottest years of the confrontation between the Soviets and the USA, when no one had yet gone into outer space and was not on the moon.
With the first task Alexey Leonov successfully managed on March 18, 1965, having spent 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside the Voskhod-2 ship.
He could also be the first person on the moon, but the program was canceled and the first was American Neil Armstrong.
Leonov made his second flight 10 years later, commanding the Soyuz-19 crew, which flew under the EPAS program (Soyuz Apollo Experimental Flight). After spending almost 6 days in space, the crew of our ship docked with the American, which happened for the first time (before that, ships from different countries had never docked).
2. Valentina Tereshkova | 2 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes in space
After a number of successful projects, especially Gagarin’s flight, the leadership of the USSR wanted to somehow “click on the nose” of America, so it was thought to send a woman into space.
Valentina Tereshkova became the 6th astronaut of the Union and the 10th in history, and also still remains the only representative of the weaker sex, flying alone.
Curious fact: according to the results of the medical board and general training, Tereshkova was the worst of the 5 selected candidates. They chose her for political reasons: she was from a simple working-class family and, moreover, knew how to speak to the public, exposing the Soviet system in a favorable light.
1. Yuri Gagarin | 1 hour, 48 minutes in space
The most famous astronaut in the entire post-Soviet space, who became the first person in world history to fly into space.
On the ship "Sunrise-1" Yuri Gagarin He stayed there for 108 minutes on April 12, 1961. Since 1962, this day has become a holiday: Cosmonautics Day.
After returning, he became a star not only of the All-Union, but also of a worldwide scale: he visited more than 30 countries where he was met as a real hero.
If it were not for the premature death during a training flight on an airplane, he could have repeatedly entered his name in history.