Soviet ‘Star Brothers’ Orbit as Part of First Joint Space Flight

By Bob Granath

In the summer of 1962, the Soviet Union stunned the world once again with a space spectacular in which two cosmonauts quadrupled the duration of a mission a year earlier while simultaneously orbiting two crewed spacecraft. The achievement appeared to extend the lead of America’s Cold War rival in the “Space Race.”

The two extended flights were designed to determine if it was possible to launch and control two separate flights concurrently and to further study how humans operate in the weightless environment of space. Nevertheless, there was another motivation explains Boris Chertok, one of the founding fathers of Soviet and Russian spaceflight.

“(Soviet Premier) Nikita Khrushchev requested that the flights be expedited in every way possible so that we might rub the Americans’ noses in it and show the whole world that they have fallen hopelessly behind us,” Chertok wrote in his 1999 memoir, Rockets and People: Hot Days of the Cold War, re-published in 2009 by the NASA History Division.

In February and May 1962, NASA astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter each spent about five hours orbiting the Earth. Cosmonauts Andriyan Nikolayev and Pavel Popovich would eclipse that many times spending four and three days in space respectively, another significant jump ahead of the space program in the United States.

‘Upstaging the Other Superpower’

Dr. Bill Barry, NASA’s now retired chief historian, believes the Soviets did not spend national resources on space flight unless there was a propaganda objective. He earned his doctorate from Oxford University in England with a dissertation on Russian missile design bureaus and manned space flight during the 1960s.

“(The objective was) to achieve a political goal of upstaging the other superpower,” he said. “Countries don’t spend a lot on space ‘things’ unless they have a political purpose. It’s not done for scientific reasons or engineering reasons, it’s done for political reasons.”

Barry believes that what gave the Soviets the appearance of a lead was “the agility and brilliance of the Soviet engineering team in coming up with ‘firsts’ that would score public relations points.”

While Khrushchev was eager to do just that, some stressed caution.

Plans for the extended flights began in late 1961 when Sergei Korolev, Russia’s chief designer and primary leader of the Soviet space program, suggested a three-day flight. However, the proposal was opposed by many of the cosmonauts and Nikolai Kamanin, who was in charge of cosmonaut training. A jump from one day to three was seen as extending space flights before more was understood about the effects of longer periods of weightlessness.

During his one-day spaceflight aboard Vostok 2 a year earlier, Gherman Titov was the first person to suffer from space adaptation syndrome or space sickness. It is a condition experienced by as many as half of all space travelers during their first hours in weightlessness.

“The Air Force, represented by Kamanin, vehemently insisted on a 24-hour scenario with the flight prolonged by another day only if the cosmonauts felt well,” said Chertok, a Russian rocket and spacecraft control systems designer.

However, Korolev reported on his meeting with Khrushchev, stating, “He is in favor of the three-day scenario.”

There were many challenges for Korolev’s team. Two RD-107 rockets each with Vostok spacecraft were prepared simultaneously. Plans called for Vostok 3 to be rolled to Launch Pad 1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and launched. As soon as the first lifted off, the second would be rolled to the pad, lifting off the next day.

Another task would be communication with two separated spacecraft in orbit.

“I received instructions from Korolev to ensure that in-flight communications between the two spacecraft were reliable and that the ground (tracking stations) could hear their conversations,” Chertok said.

Andriyan Nikolayev

Vostok 3 pilot Nikolayev was born on Sept. 5, 1929 in Sorseli, a village near the Volga River valley where his father was a worker on a on a collective farm. Young Nikolayev loved the idea of flying, climbing trees with his friends and speaking of taking flight. However, this was not encouraged by local adults.

After the death of his father in 1944, Nikolayev supported his family. However, his mother preferred that he further his education. He began medical school before he joined the army, eventually transferring to the Soviet Air Force and becoming a pilot in 1954. During training Nikolayev was noted by his superiors as being able to remain calm even in stressful situations making him a candidate for spaceflight. He was selected as a member of the first group of cosmonauts in 1960.

Pavel Popovich

The first person from the Ukraine to fly in space, Vostok 4 pilot Popovich, was born Oct. 5, 1930 in Uzyn where his father was a fireman in a sugar factory. In 1947, he earned qualifications as a carpenter in vocational school in Bila Tserkva. Four years later, Popovich graduated from a technical school in Magnitogorsk as a construction engineer where he also received a pilot’s degree.

In 1952, Popovich graduated from the Stalingrad Military Aviation School near Novosibirsk and went on to train at the Military Officers of the Air Force Aviation Training School in Grozny. In 1954, he joined the Soviet Air Force. Like Nikolayev, he was selected as part of the first group of cosmonauts.

‘Falcon’ and ‘Golden Eagle’

As preparations for the dual flights of Vostok 3 and 4 were underway, Nikolayev and Popovich thoroughly trained in simulators for their planned activities. Because of Titov’s experience in Vostok 2, activities focused on preparing the two cosmonauts for the possibility of space adaption syndrome.

Nikolayev lifted off aboard Vostok 3 from Baikonur’s Launch Pad 1, now known as “Gagarin’s Start,” at 11:24 a.m. local time on Aug. 11, 1962.

“Let’s go!,” Nikolayev said at liftoff.

The Vostok 3 spacecraft was launched into an elliptical orbit of 103 miles by 135 miles.  Soon after reaching space, Nikolayev unstrapped himself from his seat and became the first to float freely inside his spacecraft.

“This is Vostok 3 calling,” Nikolayev said upon reaching space. “Everything on board is OK. All the systems are functioning well and I’m feeling fine.”

Shortly after Launch Pad 1 was cleared for work, the rocket with the Vostok 4 spacecraft was rolled out and the countdown began for the second launch in as many days.

During Nikolayev’s first day, a radiotelephone connection was set up between Khrushchev and the cosmonaut.

“This is the commander of the spaceship Vostok 3, I’m feeling fine,” Nikolayev said. “All of the systems are functioning excellently.”

“I hear you well comrade Nikolayev,” Khrushchev said in spite of persistent static. “I am glad you are feeling fine and the equipment is functioning without a hitch. I greet you and I’m proud to see that you have shown such courage in undertaking this historic flight.”

During long periods where Nikolayev was out of touch with Russian tracking stations, he wrote in his diary a passage that reflected the tensions of the Cold War.

“As I look at mother Earth, I cannot get my fill,” he said. “My heart is filled with a fervent desire to save this planet of ours from an atomic death.”

‘I’m ready to take off’

After his first sleep period, Nikolayev reported, “I’m feeling fine and I slept well.” He was ready to be joined by his colleague. Popovich was eager to get underway too.

“It’s 10:55 (a.m.),” Popovich said from his seat in the Vostok 4 spacecraft. “I’m feeling fine and I’m ready to take off.”

Seven minutes later the second Soviet spaceship launched to a parallel orbit of 105 miles by 138 miles. Nikolayev pointed his spacecraft toward the ground, but failed to see anything despite reporting considerable details on the ground as he had passed over Turkey.

“Everything is going fine,” Popovich said. “I can see a very lovely horizon and farther on a black sky. I see the Earth; it is still cloudy. Everything’s going fine.”

At one point, the two spacecraft trajectories brought the spacecraft within approximately 4 miles of one another, but Vostoks 3 and 4 did not have maneuvering capability to attempt a rendezvous.

Nikolayev said that he saw the Vostok 4 capsule after it entered orbit and at a post-fight news conference, Popovich also reported that he briefly spotted Vostok 3.

“I saw it at once,” he said. “It looked like a very small moon in the distance.”

Using shortwave radio systems developed by Chertok’s team, the two were able to communicate with regular ship-to-ship conversations over the course of their missions in addition to contacting the ground tracking stations. Nikolayev was code-named “Falcon” and Popovich as “Golden Eagle.”

“This is Falcon calling,” Nikolayev reported to spacecraft communicator Yuri Gagarin, the first person to fly in space. “I have contacted Eagle.”

Popovich’s Vostok 4 mission went primarily as planned although his spacecraft’s life-support systems malfunctioned briefly. That caused the interior temperature to drop to 50 degrees F. In Chertok’s memoir, he noted that Popovich deprived himself of his fourth day in space when he reported, “I am observing a thunderstorm.”

“’Thunderstorm’ was the code word signifying that nausea had worsened to the point of vomiting,” Chertok said. “It never occurred to anyone that he was talking about a real thunderstorm.”

The decision was made to end his flight after three days in spite of the fact that when asked about the “thunderstorm” Popovich insisted, “I observed a meteorological storm and lightning.”

‘Star Brothers’

After 64 orbits during almost four days in space, Nikolayev said he was preparing to return.

“I’m feeling fine and I’m ready to make the descent,” he said.

After firing, his retrorocket Nikolayev landed Aug. 15, 1962 with his flight lasting 3 days, 22 hours and 28 minutes. Seven minutes later, Popovich touched down about 124 miles away with both landing south of Karaganda, Kazakhstan.

“How fine it is to be back on solid ground again,” Popovich said after his flight of 48 orbits lasting 2 days, 22 hours and 56 minutes.

After this latest Soviet space extravaganza, there was the usual celebrations in Moscow’s Red Square hosted by Khrushchev. While addressing the crowds, Popovich somewhat exaggerated his proximity to Nikolayev.

“It was my fortune with Andriyan Nikolayev to continue the cause begun last year by my friends Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov,” he said. “But, I must frankly confess we had it much easier than the first Soviet cosmonauts. They each went up into space by themselves. We went up together and when you know you have a friend at your elbow, the feeling is quite different.”

Following this theme, the Soviets produced a mission highlights film titled, Star Brothers.

A similar mission took place almost a year later when Valery Bykovsky was launched aboard Vostok 5 on June 14, 1963. Valentina Tereshkova aboard Vostok 6, the first woman in space, followed two days later. On Nov. 3 that year, Nikolayev married Tereshkova. They had one child and later divorced. Their daughter, Elena Andriyanovna, now is a medical doctor

Nikolayev went on to serve as commander of the Soviet Astronauts’ Detachment and later flew a second mission aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. However, in 1969 he was almost a victim of an assassination plot against General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev who succeeded Khrushchev as leader of the Soviet Union.

On Jan. 22, 1969, Viktor Ilyin, a Soviet Army deserter, fired pistols at a motorcade near the Kremlin in Moscow. He thought Brezhnev was aboard a second vehicle, but cosmonauts Nikolayev, Tereshkova, Georgy Beregovoy and Alexei Leonov were aboard. The limousine driver, Ilya Zharkov, was killed and Beregovoy was wounded. The others escaped unhurt.

On June 1, 1970, Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov launched aboard Soyuz 9, a mission that set a new space endurance record of almost 18 days, landing on June 19. The flight remains the longest by an individual spacecraft not involving a stay aboard an orbiting space station.

Nikolayev died July 3, 2004 of a heart attack in Cheboksary, the capital of Chuvashia in Russia. He was 74.

In January 1964, Popovich was assigned as a cosmonaut instructor as deputy commander to the second group of cosmonauts. By 1969, he was a senior cosmonaut instructor and later named chief of cosmonaut training.

Popovich commanded Soyuz 14 from July 3-19, 1974 with flight engineer Yuri Artyukhin. They were the first crew to occupy Salyut 3, a military space station launched June 25. Their mission was a 15-day program of reconnaissance of Earth’s surface.

Beginning in 1978, Popovich was the deputy chief of the Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center in Star City, near Moscow. He was responsible for research and testing work. In January 1982, he served as deputy chief for Scientific Testing and Research at the Center and retired as a cosmonaut later that year.

At the time of his death on Sept. 30, 2009 at the age of 78, Popovich was chairman of the board of the All-Russia Institute of Agricultural Aero-Photo-Geodesic Studies.

The lasting achievement of the joint flight of cosmonauts Andriyan Nikolayev and Pavel Popovich was that it further demonstrated that humans could live and work in space. While a common occurrence now, it was the first time more than one person had been in Earth orbit.

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