Boris Chertok

Soviet’s Voskhod Launch was ‘Undoubtedly a Greater Risk’

By Bob Granath | October 15, 2024

In the autumn of 1964, the Soviet Union achieved another space spectacular with the flight of the first multi-person spacecraft. On board was a pilot cosmonaut and the first civilians to fly in space – a physician and an engineer. Russia’s stated confidence in the reliability of their technology noted that there was no need for pressure suits. However, in the years since the fall of the Soviet regime, Russian space experts confirmed the mission was primarily for propaganda and included significant risks.

Soviet ‘Cosmic Spectacular’ Included First Woman in Space

By Bob Granath | June 12, 2023

In June 1963, 60 years ago, the Soviet Union performed another “spectacular” in the cosmos, eclipsing American achievements in space. As was the case 10 months earlier, two Vostok spacecraft orbited the Earth with one establishing a new human spaceflight endurance record. Aboard the second capsule was the first woman to travel in space. Her time in orbit was more than all six U.S. human flights combined.

How Did the United States Take the Lead in the ‘Space Race?’

By Bob Granath | October 26, 2022

One of the most memorable periods of the 20th Century is known as the “Space Race” between the United States and the Soviet Union. While the Russians got off to a fast start with many impressive firsts, Americans quickly pulled ahead and met the goal of landing humans on the Moon. But, historians do not universally agree on when the competition actually began and at what point NASA took the lead.

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

By Bob Granath | August 10, 2022

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.”

Gherman Titov’s Day-Long Flight Proved Humans Can Live in Space

By Bob Granath | August 16, 2021

Soviet Air Force Major Gherman Titov became the second person in orbit, spending an entire day circling the Earth in 1961. Since he was able to sleep in space, it proved humans could not only work in the weightless environment, but live there too. However, in doing so, Titov also became the first to oversleep in space.

Tag: Boris Chertok