The April 19, 1970 launching of the Salyut scientific space station ushered
in a new era in Soviet cosmonautics putting in orbit a space laboratory
meant for long-term research of the Cosmos. The initial phase of its work
was marred by a host of technical glitches though, that’s why mission control
was very apprehensive about the planned docking of the incoming Soyuz 10
ferry. Following a series of painstaking checkups of all systems,
the crew of cosmonauts Shatalov, Yeliseyev and Rukavishnikov were instructed
not to open the transfer hatches as originally planned, but, instead, to
undock and make a quick landing. The next ferry to the outpost lifted
off only on June 6 but, at the very last moment, a member of the main crew
fell ill and backups Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Victor Patsayev
took over…
Then, more than 30 years ago these three “lucky” men were here at our studios
and so, years on, we decided to once again present the crew of the world’s
first manned scientific orbiter.
On June 1 Lieutenant-Colonel Georgy Dobrovolsky, the crew commander, had
turned 43 – the oldest of the three.
 Georgy
was born in Odessa and, just like every other boy living in that Black
Sea port, dreamed of someday becoming a seaman. It so happened, however,
that he ultimately entered a special pilot’s school and immediately fell
in love with the skies – a passion that helped him excellently through
the pilot’s school and subsequently made him a top-notch airman.
Still flying, he finished the Air Force Academy thus offering a perfect
combination of top-notch flying skills and profound theoretical knowledge.
Joining the cosmonaut training team, Georgy worked hard patiently
waiting his turn to fly – which was not easy for such an emotional man
like him, but, hardheaded and never letting things go unfinished, he kept
working on and on…
Asked about his upcoming flight and mission program, he said:
“Basically, we are though with the details of the work we are going
to do and I want to say that the Soyuz 10 mission paved the way for us
to work on the Salyut station”.
At 35, flight engineer Vladislav Volkov is the youngest member of
the Soyuz crew but he is the most experienced one too this flight already
being his second. His first mission was in 1969 on board the Soyuz 7 craft.
 Vladislav
was born and brought up in Moscow. A certified aviation engineer he is
also a professional pilot and during his five-year stint with the cosmonauts
training unit he has learned the ropes where it comes to handing a space-going
ship. Volkov is eager to fly saying that despite all the problems
one has to cope with up there, he wants to do it again and again and that
he just can’t wait to fly once more.
“The task we are going to handle this time round is way more difficult
compared to what we did last time. We’ll try to do our best to fulfill
this very challenging and all-important task and pick up where the Soyuz
10 crew left off…”
And the third crewmember is test engineer Victor Patsayev, 38. Just like
Georgy Dobrovolsky he was born in June but five years after his commander.
Victor was born in Aktyubinsk, Kazakhstan. Graduating from the local
industrial institute, he spent many years working with a design bureau.
By the time  he
joined the cosmonaut’s team he was already a seasoned and unorthodoxly
minded engineer. Flying to space was his lifetime dream…
“As soon as people started flying to space I felt I was going to join in
this very serious business. I spent lots of time nurturing the idea
until one day I was lucky to fly a very fascinating mission on board Soyuz
13 which then docked with the orbital station.”
Judging by what he says and how it is clear that Victor Patsayev is a man
of purpose, reserved and tight-lipped. He is a technology buff, he loves
his job but he also likes literature and is an avid reader. His favorite
pastimes away from work are angling, hunting and just being out in the
country.
Three people, so different in their social backgrounds and age, but researchers
all working on one and the same subject. A three-man team, the first
ever to work on a manned space lab.
We now know that they died on their way down after spending more than three
busy weeks on board the station. A small technical glitch snuffed out their
lives after a prematurely opening valve decompressing the module too high
up in the sky… Professor Anatoly Grigoryev:
“To me it was also a personal tragedy because Victor Patsayev and I were
good friends. When I, then a young doctor, started working at our research
center, they entrusted me to look after Victor who, in 1967, was being
tested to join the cosmonauts’ training team. I like this man very
much, he had difficult childhood, but he was strong enough to overcome
all his problems and receive excellent education. He was literally
burning to make a space flight and it just so happened that, merely a few
days before blastoff, the backup crew he was in was ordered to fly.
They were so envied by everyone!
They were killed by a technical malfunction - decompression of the
landing capsule during descent. They died instantly, but this doesn’t make
it any easier for all of us though…”
Space flights are a dangerous business. The test-cosmonauts know this full
well but they stick out they neck notwithstanding so that those who come
after them can do more than they did…
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