On March 7, 1960, the Soviet Union completed the formation of its first squad of cosmonauts, paving the way for space exploration. Just a year later, Yuri Gagarin, one of the team’s members, became the first human to enter space.
By the end of 1950s, the Soviet Union’s science level had reached a remarkable level and the government decided to have a go at a human space flight and select candidates.
Above: Soviet pilot-cosmonaut Alexei Leonov training in the centrifuge at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.
Above: Soviet pilot-cosmonaut Alexei Leonov training in the centrifuge at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.
Excellent health was the primary requirement for a candidate. A prospective cosmonaut had to be 35 or younger, less than 1,75 meters tall and weigh a maximum of 75 kg.
Above: Cosmonaut Georgy Shonin in a swimming-pool.
Above: Cosmonaut Georgy Shonin in a swimming-pool.
Sergei Korolyov, the founding father of the Soviet cosmonaut program and the director of Yuri Gagarin’s flight, considered military pilots as the most suitable candidates.
Above: Cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin, in the foreground, and Valery Bykovsky on the parallel bars.
Above: Cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin, in the foreground, and Valery Bykovsky on the parallel bars.
“He [an Air Force pilot] is a universal specialist. He is a pilot, a navigator, a signalist, and a flight engineer,” Korolyov said thus giving preference to Air Force representatives.
Above: Soviet pilots-cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin (left) and Alexei Leonov (right) on the airfield after a training session.
Above: Soviet pilots-cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin (left) and Alexei Leonov (right) on the airfield after a training session.
Only 347 people met the health and professional criteria. They moved on to have an interview.
Above: Cosmonauts Pavel Popovich, left, and Andriyan Nikolayev during an astronavigation class.
Above: Cosmonauts Pavel Popovich, left, and Andriyan Nikolayev during an astronavigation class.
Above: Soyuz-24 spacecraft crew - Soviet space pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union and spacecraft commander Colonel Viktor Gorbatko (right) and onboard engineer Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Glazkov (left) - in preflight training.
Cosmonauts recall that they were asked a question: “Would you like to fly a new vehicle?”
Above: Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov enjoying weightlessness in a flying laboratory preparing for space flight.
Above: Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov enjoying weightlessness in a flying laboratory preparing for space flight.
No one specified what exactly the “new vehicle” meant. Candidates had to answer unhesitatingly.
Above: Prospective Pilots-Cosmonauts examine space technology. Yuri Gagarin is second from right and Andriyan Nikolayev is sixth right.
Above: Prospective Pilots-Cosmonauts examine space technology. Yuri Gagarin is second from right and Andriyan Nikolayev is sixth right.
Physical checks were rigorous. Candidates had to undergo ‘stress tests’ including riding in an aerospace chamber and a centrifuge.
Above: Cosmonaut Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov before training on the centrifuge. The cosmonauts' training center (now the Yu. A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center), Star City. A photograph from the archive of the APN publishing house.
Above: Cosmonaut Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov before training on the centrifuge. The cosmonauts' training center (now the Yu. A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center), Star City. A photograph from the archive of the APN publishing house.
Finally, on March 7, 1960, the final squad of 12 people was formed.
Above: First Soviet cosmonaut squad. Front row, left to right: P. Popovich, V. Gorbatko, Y. Khrunov, Yuri Gagarin, chief designer Sergei Korolev, N. Koroleva with Popovich's daughter Natasha, Ye. Karpov, head of cosmonaut group, parachute jumping instructor N. Nikitin and doctor Y. Fyodorov. Back row, left to right: A. Leonov, A. Nikolayev, M. Rafikov, D. Zaikin, B. Volynov, G. Titov, G. Nelyubov, Valery Bykovsky and G. Shonin. Third row, left to right: V. Filatyev, I. Anikeyev and P. Belyayev. [16 from original group of 20 trainee cosmonauts are pictured. 11 of these flew in space.]
Above: First Soviet cosmonaut squad. Front row, left to right: P. Popovich, V. Gorbatko, Y. Khrunov, Yuri Gagarin, chief designer Sergei Korolev, N. Koroleva with Popovich's daughter Natasha, Ye. Karpov, head of cosmonaut group, parachute jumping instructor N. Nikitin and doctor Y. Fyodorov. Back row, left to right: A. Leonov, A. Nikolayev, M. Rafikov, D. Zaikin, B. Volynov, G. Titov, G. Nelyubov, Valery Bykovsky and G. Shonin. Third row, left to right: V. Filatyev, I. Anikeyev and P. Belyayev. [16 from original group of 20 trainee cosmonauts are pictured. 11 of these flew in space.]
Since the construction of a training base had yet to be completed, the squad was divided into two groups of six cosmonauts each.
Above: Soviet pilot-cosmonauts in the "Cosmos" pavilion at VDNKh (All-Russia Exhibition Centre). Left to right: Pavel Popovich, Alexei Leonov, Pavel Belyaev, German Titov.
Above: Soviet pilot-cosmonauts in the "Cosmos" pavilion at VDNKh (All-Russia Exhibition Centre). Left to right: Pavel Popovich, Alexei Leonov, Pavel Belyaev, German Titov.
The first group comprising Y. Gagarin, G. Titov, A. Nikolayev, A. Kartashov, V. Varlamov and P. Popovich was prioritized and trained more intensively than the second group.
Above: Pilot-Cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev inside Vostok spacecraft simulator.
Above: Pilot-Cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev inside Vostok spacecraft simulator.
In January and April 1961, the candidates passed their exams with excellence and received a qualification of “Air Force cosmonauts”.
Left to right: Pilots-Cosmonauts Pavel Belyayev, Vladimir Komarov and Alexei Leonov in bus headed for Voskhod-2 launch pad.
Left to right: Pilots-Cosmonauts Pavel Belyayev, Vladimir Komarov and Alexei Leonov in bus headed for Voskhod-2 launch pad.
Twelve squad members carried out space flights, with Yuri Gagarin being the first human to enter space on April 12, 1961.
Above: Yuri Gagarin and his back-up German (Herman) Titov in a bus on the way to the launching site at the Baikonur cosmodrome on April 12, 1961. Reproduction.
Above: Yuri Gagarin and his back-up German (Herman) Titov in a bus on the way to the launching site at the Baikonur cosmodrome on April 12, 1961. Reproduction.
Above: Landing of 'Vostok-1 spacecraft in which Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth on April 12, 1961. Gagarin ejected from the craft some time before it landed and parachuted safely to Earth.
Above: Red carpet welcome of The First pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union Yuri Gagarin. Demonstration of the working people on Red Square.
Alexei Leonov performed the first spacewalk on March 18, 1965. It lasted for 12 minutes and 9 seconds.
Above: Pilot-Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov taking a space walk, 1965. Still from documentary "In A Space Suit Above the Planet."
Above: Pilot-Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov taking a space walk, 1965. Still from documentary "In A Space Suit Above the Planet."
Boris Volynov was the squad’s main veteran. Since his enlistment in 1960, he spent 30 years as a cosmonaut and retired in 1990.
Above: The Vostok-1 space ship with the world's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin before the start. April 12, 1961. A shot from a documentary made in 1968.
Above: The Vostok-1 space ship with the world's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin before the start. April 12, 1961. A shot from a documentary made in 1968.
Above: Crew members of space ship "Voskhod" Boris Egorov, Vladimir Komarov and Konstantin Feoktistov (from left) returning to Baikonur cosmodrome after space flight, 1964.
Above: German Titov (center) putting on a cosmonaut suit before his flight aboard the Vostok 5.
