Science & Tech · Space · 8 hrs ago

Voskhod 1 carries the first three-person crew into space

Voskhod 1 carries the first three-person crew into space

On Oct.

12, 1964, the Soviet Union launched Voskhod 1 with three people aboard.

Commander Vladimir Komarov flew with engineer Konstantin Feoktistov and doctor Boris Yegorov.

It was the first spaceflight to carry more than one person, and Feoktistov and Yegorov were the first civilians to go to space.

The mission was part of the space race, as the Soviet Union sought to stay ahead of the United States.

Political pressure led the Soviet space program to add a third crew member, leaving no room for spacesuits.

That made the flight riskier, as the crew had no spacesuits for launch or landing.

The mission lasted just over 24 hours, and the United States launched its first multi-person mission, Gemini 3, about six months later.

What people are saying

Soviet leader [Nikita] Khrushchev contacted Korolev and ordered him to convert the Vostok spacecraft into a vehicle capable of carrying not two, but three cosmonauts,
Asif SiddiqiSpace historianvia Space.com

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