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Moskalenko, Nikolai Tikhonovich

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Moskalenko Credit: www.spacefacts.de

Status: Deceased; Active 1976-1986. Born: 1949. Died: 2004-11-25. Birth Place: Goragorsky.

Graduated from Military Fighter Pilot School in Yeisk, 1970 Lieutenant Colonel, pilot and test pilot, Soviet Air Force. Cosmonaut training 23 August 1976 - 30 January 1979. Served again as a pilot in the Air Force. On 5 February 1990 he was involved in a midair collision and was subsequently demoted. Died in Lipetsk, Russian Federation.

• Back at Tyuratam - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Moskalenko, Semenov, Yangel. Spacecraft Bus: 2MV. Spacecraft: Mars 2MV-2. Kamanin flies to the cosmodrome with Korolev, Keldysh, Moskalenko, General Semenov, and others. Yangel's R-16 ICBM is not ready for launch yet due to continuing problems with the radio systems. The Venera is set for a 2 February launch attempt..

• Vostok cleared for manned flight - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Dementiev, Korolev, Kozlov, Moskalenko, Ustinov, Voronin. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The capsule was recovered 45 km southeast of Votinsk. The mannequin was ejected successfully from the aircraft, the dog Zvezdochka was fine, and was displayed to journalists all day. Therefore all is ready for a manned flight. The cosmonauts agree: 'Everything is finished, we can fly'. All is ready for a one-orbit flight with recovery in the USSR, but Kamanin still worries about the lack of any realistic plan in emergency situations. The environmental control system has still not completed endurance tests, and won't be able to keep the cosmonaut alive for the ten to twelve days it would take the spacecraft to decay from orbit if the retrorocket fails. Trials with the hot mock-up of the ECS in the capsule have still not been successful. Furthermore, a recovery at sea is not practical.

  The pace quickens leading to the first human spaceflight. Kamanin coordinates matters with Korolev and Voronin, and then discusses the ECS problems and cosmonaut landing issues with Dementiev. Plans are made for a meeting with Ustinov and Kozlov. In the evening a meeting of the General Staff is held. Decisions made: 1) Announce the name of the cosmonaut as soon as he is in orbit; 2) improve VVS support (aircraft, helicopters) needed to pick up the cosmonaut immediately after landing; 3) issue a formal letter to Moskalenko on rules for filming of the cosmonaut at the launch site; 4) organise an examination of the 11 cosmonauts not in the group of six now being prepared for flights.

• VVS General Staff certifies flight readiness of cosmonauts Gagarin, Titov, and Nelyubov. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Filatyev, Gagarin, Khrushchev, Korolev, Moskalenko, Nelyubov, Rafikov, Titov, Zaikin. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1.

  They also, on the basis of the recent examinations and interviews, clear the rest of the cosmonaut trainees for flight except for Rafikov, Filatev, and Zaikin, who passed the examinations but had not yet completed all the tests and training. Moskalenko has given approval for a Soviet film team to go to Tyuratam and film preparations for the flight. At the Presidium meeting Khrushchev had questioned what would be done if the cosmonaut reacted poorly in the first minute of the flight. Korolev answered in his deep voice: 'Cosmonaut are extraordinarily trained, they know the spacecraft and flight conditions better than I and we are confident of their strength'. The flight is still seen as very risky - of seven Vostoks flown unmanned so far, five made it to orbit, three landed safely, but one did not. On the other hand, both recent Venera launch attempts reached low earth orbit.

• Vostok 1 preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Moskalenko, Rudnev, Titov, Vershinin. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1.

  At Area 2 the cosmonauts conduct three hours of training on manual landing, and activities after landing. All three accomplish the manual landing well. Then they have three hours of badminton for physical conditioning. Both Gagarin and Titov like the game, and they are filmed for posterity. In the evening Rudnev discusses adding a night shift in order to achieve launch on 11 to 12 April. Afterwards Vershinin is briefed, and told all is normal, heading for an 11/12 April launch. Vershinin replies that the Americans are planning to launch their first man into space on 28 April. Kamanin is confident, there will be no difficulty in beating them. He notes the Americans launched a Mercury capsule on 24 March, but there was an abort and the capsule sank in the Atlantic. In the evening the movies are 'Careful, Babushka' and 'Vostok-1'. Kamanin finds the film on the mission good. General Moskalenko calls - he wants a meeting with the cosmonauts on launch day. Kamanin is not opposed, but he needs to know a specific time - it will be a busy morning before the launch

• Vostok 1 State Commission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Keldysh, Korolev, Moskalenko, Titov, Yazdovskiy. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Rudnev chairs the meeting, in which Kamanin recommends that Gagarin pilot the first manned spaceflight, with Titov as backup. A discussion follows on whether to have a representative from the FAI at the launch in order to obtain registration of the world record. Marshal Moskalenko and Keldysh are opposed - they don't want anyone from outside at the secret cosmodrome. It is decided to enclose the code to unlock the controls of the spacecraft in a special packet. Gagarin will have to break it open in order to get the code that will allow him to override the automatic system and orient the spacecraft manually for re-entry. An emergency ejection during ascent to orbit is discussed. It is decided that only Korolev or Kamanin will be allowed to manually command an ejection in the first 40 seconds of flight. After that, the process will be automatic. There is embarrassment when Moskalenko confronts Yazdovskiy: 'so why are you here, when you're a veterinarian and only handle dogs?' Kamanin has to explain that Yazdovskiy is actually a medical doctor. After the meeting, Kamanin reviews Titov's training in the spacecraft, which has gone well.

• Vostok preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Moskalenko, Rudnev, Titov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1.

  It is a pleasant spring day at Area 10. The cosmonauts play sports, games, and chess. Rudnev and Moskalaneko think the launch will not realistically happen until 14-15 April. Kamanin informs Gagarin and Titov of the selection of Gagarin to be the first man in space.

• Vostok preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Korolev, Moskalenko, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rudnev, Titov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Sever.

  Kamanin plays badminton with Gagarin, Titov, and Nelyubov, winning 16 to 5. At 12:00 a meeting is held with the cosmonauts at the Syr Darya River. Rudnev, Moskalenko, and Korolev informally discuss plans with Gagarin, Titov, Nelyubov, Popovich, Nikolayev, and Bykovsky. Korolev addresses the group, saying that it is only four years since the Soviet Union put the first satellite into orbit, and here they are about to put a man into space. The six cosmonauts here are all ready and qualified for the first flight. Although Gagarin has been selected for this flight, the others will follow soon - in this year production of ten Vostok spacecraft will be completed, and in future years it will be replaced by the two or three-place Sever spacecraft. The place of these cosmonauts here does not indicate the completion of our work, says Korolev, but rather the beginning of a long line of Soviet spacecraft. Korolev predicts that the flight will be completed safely, and he wishes Yuri Alekseyevich success. Kamanin and Moskalenko follow with their speeches. In the evening the final State Commission meeting is held. Launch is set for 12 April and the selection of Gagarin for the flight is ratified. The proceedings are recorded for posterity on film and tape.

• Vostok 1 - . Call Sign: Kedr (Cedar ). Crew: Gagarin. Backup Crew: Nelyubov, Titov. Payload: Vostok 3KA s/n 3. Mass: 4,725 kg (10,416 lb). Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Karpov, Keldysh, Korolev, Moskalenko, Rudnev. Agency: RVSN. Program: Vostok. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok. Duration: 0.0750 days. Decay Date: 1961-04-12 . USAF Sat Cat: 103 . COSPAR: 1961-Mu-1. Apogee: 315 km (195 mi). Perigee: 169 km (105 mi). Inclination: 65.00 deg. Period: 89.30 min.

  First manned spaceflight, one orbit of the earth. Three press releases were prepared, one for success, two for failures. It was only known ten minutes after burnout, 25 minutes after launch, if a stable orbit had been achieved.

  The payload included life-support equipment and radio and television to relay information on the condition of the pilot. The flight was automated; Gagarin's controls were locked to prevent him from taking control of the ship. The combination to unlock the controls was available in a sealed envelope in case it became necessary to take control in an emergency. After retrofire, the service module remained attached to the Sharik reentry sphere by a wire bundle. The joined craft went through wild gyrations at the beginning of re-entry, before the wires burned through. The Sharik, as it was designed to do, then naturally reached aerodynamic equilibrium with the heat shield positioned correctly.

  Gagarin ejected after re-entry and descended under his own parachute, as was planned. However for many years the Soviet Union denied this, because the flight would not have been recognized for various FAI world records unless the pilot had accompanied his craft to a landing. Recovered April 12, 1961 8:05 GMT. Landed Southwest of Engels Smelovka, Saratov. Additional Details: here....

• Soviet Air Force Cosmonaut Training Group 6 selected. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Ivanov, Leonid, Moskalenko, Protchenko, Saley, Solovyov, Titov, Vladimir, Vasyutin, Volkov, Aleksandr.

• Soyuz T-15B (cancelled) - . Crew: Aleksandrov, Saley, Viktorenko. Backup Crew: Moskalenko, Serebrov, Solovyov. Nation: Russia. Program: Salyut 7. Flight: Soyuz T-15B. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz T. Planned second crew to opeate TKS-3 military experiments aboard Salyut 7 before control of the station was lost. Salyut 7 and Cosmos 1686 burned up in the atmosphere together in a fiery show over Argentina on February 7, 1991..

• Death of Nikolai Tikhonovich Moskalenko at Lipetsk, Russia - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Moskalenko. Russian pilot cosmonaut, 1976-1986..