The cosmonauts who got stuck in the spaceship 48 hours after landing without being able to open the doors - on the Vashud program

Another article in the series about the early days of spaceflight - the experiment of the technology that was eventually used by Soyuz

The Voskhod launches were the second series of manned spacecraft after the Vostok program. In this program there were only 2 launches - Vaskhod 1 and Vaskhod 2. The Vaskhod is similar in size and structure to that of the Vostok. The spaceship has three parts: the command cabin, the instrument cabin and the braking engine. Most of the changes are internal. Instead of the escape chair that takes up a lot of space, three seats were put into the cabin. The astronauts can work without spacesuits. The cell has three entrances. On the outer side of the spaceship is a camera that surveys the parts that cannot be monitored by eye contact. The weight of the spacecraft is 5.7 tons. The launch was made using a model 2 RNV missile. It is an improved RNV missile with a thrust of 650 tons.

A new engine for the spacecraft to detach from orbit and return to Earth. This engine provides sufficient safety even for a spacecraft flying at an altitude of 410 km. Spacecraft spare landing engine. The phase of returning to Israel begins as in Vostok flights, automatically, according to a signal from Israel. Special sensors direct the spacecraft to the sun, so that the braking motors are activated at the right time. The spaceship has detached from the orbit and the spherical chamber where the astronauts stay has detached and penetrates the atmosphere. Under the influence of the engines and atmospheric braking, the spacecraft's speed is reduced to 220 meters per second. At this speed and at an altitude of 5 km, a system of parachutes is deployed, a mechanism is activated that allows landing at a speed close to zero. An additional powerful braking motor ensures extremely efficient stopping.

Voskhud 1
Waskhud 1 is the first spacecraft that carried 3 people. The launch was on October 12, 1964. The spacecraft circled the Earth 16 times in a time of 24 hours and 17 minutes. The flight path was 178-408 km, inclination angle 65 degrees and the whole lap lasted 90.1 minutes. The weight of the spacecraft is 5320 kg. The astronauts who participated in the flight were Konstantin Pyukostikov, an engineer, Vladimir Komarov, a navigator and flight commander, and Boris Yugorov, a doctor. While Komarov is a skilled astronaut, his flightmates have little experience.
The goals of the flight were:

• - to test multi-seater spaceships.
• - To carry out scientific, physical and technical investigations under the conditions of space.
• - to continue researching the influence of various factors in space flights on man.
• - To examine the possibility of cooperation of people from different professions in the team, under the special conditions of tension prevailing in the spacecraft.

These tasks are performed using research instruments located in the spacecraft in direct cooperation with scientists and doctors in the control center. The space scientists made considerable efforts to create conditions inside the spacecraft identical to those existing in the atmosphere. While the astronauts were in the spacecraft they wore normal flight helmets and instead of heavy and bulky spacesuits they wore light clothing. The spacesuits are stored for emergencies.
During their flight, the astronauts broadcast a television broadcast including greetings to every country they passed over. Komarov performed a maneuver during the flight and tested a ion engine in space conditions. It is an engine that fulfills the function of a maneuvering engine, but it works on other principles. This engine is based on the acceleration of charged particles in a magnetic field. This engine is not very powerful, but a small amount of energy is enough to rotate the spaceship around one of its axes, that is, around its center of gravity. Naturally, changing the spacecraft's direction of flight has a completely different meaning. That is, removing the gravitational center from the original flight path. It requires a powerful motor for large track corrections. The ion engine is attached to the side of the spacecraft and allows aiming in any desired direction.
Fikostikov is associated with the team building new model spacecraft, so his role was focused on testing the spacecraft's instruments. Other roles included observations of polarized light, measuring the light of stars of different magnitudes above the horizon. The purpose of the experiment is to test whether determining and finding the terrestrial horizon as it appears from space is sufficient to use it as a source for "shooting" stars. Pyokostikov concluded that astronauts in the future will be able to use a sextant to determine the direction of flight (this was done in the Soyuz spacecraft).
Boris Yogurev performed medical tests on his flight mates and himself. Most of his experiments focused on the mechanism of the ear atrium. After the flight he said that during the flight he and Pyokustikov felt as if they were flying downwards even with their eyes closed. Komarov who is a trained astronaut did not feel this.
Animals, druposphicha butterflies and plants participated in the flight. The goal was to check how the lack of weight affects them. Butterflies reproduce quickly, so you can immediately observe the effects of space conditions on the offspring, such as the lack of weight, radiation, and more.
Before landing, the spacecraft is directed towards the sun by sensitive sensors and stabilizes itself. According to a signal from the ground, the braking motor is activated and the speed is slowed down. The instrument compartment and engines are disconnected. The command cabin penetrates the atmosphere and lands.
According to the plan, the astronauts were supposed to stay in space for three days. The lack of regular activity of the transmitter and the weakness of Pyokostikov led to the shortening of the journey. The astronauts claimed that they saw interesting things in space and wanted to investigate them thoroughly, for this they had to return home.
A German journalist said that he learned from Soviet sources that the real reason is different. Waskhod 1 was attacked by disc-like bodies with extremely high speeds. These bodies hit the spaceship with force using magnetic fields. is it true? An obvious question is why this kind of information about the Vostok spaceships was not leaked?
Voskhud 2
While Voskhod 1 consisted of three astronauts, the crew of Voskhod 2 consisted of two astronauts Alexei Leoniev and Pavel Balayev. This crew was launched on March 18, 1965, stayed in space for 24 hours and 2 minutes and circled the Earth 18 times. The flight path is 173-498 km, the inclination angle is 65 degrees for 90.1 minutes. The weight of the spacecraft is 5682 kg.

Flight objectives:

• - check the orientation options in space.
• - check the ability of the equipment to withstand the wall of the sun and check the safety of the spacecraft under the conditions prevailing in space.
• - check protection against cosmic radiation.
• - To conduct medical and biological studies on the conditions during a space flight.
• - check the person's ability to perform various actions in space.

Objectives four and five came into play when Leoniev operated outside the spacecraft. 90 minutes after the launch, Leonev left the spacecraft and stayed outside it for 10 minutes.
The spaceship is equipped with a transit chamber that allows exiting it without reducing the air pressure inside it to zero and pumping the air out of it. The transit chamber has a simple structure, a tunnel that folds like an accordion and is connected to one of the openings. Next to the co-pilot's seat there is a portable round porthole to which the optical orientation device - "Wozor" is attached. When the spacecraft enters orbit after launch the transit chamber is deployed. Since the transit chamber is hermetically sealed from air during launch, its outer hatch opens inward.
After the first lap, the transition chamber and the Leonive space suit were tested. When the latter entered the transition chamber, Laive closed the spacecraft compartment and sucked the air out of the cabin, while Laive checked his space suit. Everything was fine. A few seconds later, he opened the outer door of the transit compartment and, following a signal from Belayev, went out. While Unive was outside, Blaive checked the cell's control mechanism, recorded his friend's pulse (which had increased slightly) and breathing rate, and maneuvered the spacecraft so that Unive was always in sunlight during the televised operation. The television camera was attached to the outer wall of the outer opening of the transit compartment.
The hovering in space was done over the Black Sea and its surroundings to enable the color television broadcast of the operation, Univ had to return the camera to the spaceship. Before leaving on Univ, he had to breathe clean oxygen for an hour (to remove from his body nitrogen that was dissolved in him). He entered the transition chamber, sealed the space suit, gradually lowered the pressure to 1/5 atmosphere so that the space suit would be less inflated and more flexible. Only then will he be allowed to open the outer hatch and go out into the space breathing clean air. The exit was made from the space in 3 stages:
A. When he emerged from the spaceship, Univ remained close to the opening for several minutes, holding onto the railing at the edge of the opening.
B. He put his whole body out and while he continued to hold onto the railing he performed a horizontal swimming motion.
third. Switched to vertical motion and moved away from the spaceship.
Leoniev's speed when he was floating in space was similar to that of the spaceship (the acceleration given to him as he moved away from the spaceship is negligible). During his hovering, Leonev removed the protective cover from the camera lens that should record his movements in space. With the film he had in his hand, he photographed the earth and space. In addition, he checked the outer sheath of the spaceship. The spacecraft had a system of computers that monitored the astronaut's condition. In case there is a break in the oxygen supply, this system automatically activates a help mechanism.

During his spacewalk, Leoniev's suit inflated like a balloon and he had trouble getting into the spaceship. These efforts lasted several minutes. His agility and flexibility saved his life. In his right hand he held some tools that made it difficult for him to enter the transit compartment. It became clear to him that following some movements in space, in particular the movements of his head, he gets tired. Leoniev felt that working in the space suit was not comfortable. Every action requires excessive effort. Furthermore, the pressure of the space suit is felt and a counter-action must be taken by pressure. He encountered difficulties while trying to return the camera. The camera hovered continuously in the transit compartment, and while trying to catch it, either by hand or by stepping on it, it was ejected and continued to float in the compartment.

This action tired him as well. After returning to the cabin, the astronauts performed necessary actions. They checked each other's blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate.

After the space tour, the astronauts noticed an "unmanned satellite" moving 800 meters behind them and then lost contact with the control center for a few hours. On the 17th lap, the control center failed to activate the braking system. After another coffee. An order was given to start the engines manually and make an emergency landing. The braking system did not work because at the necessary moment the sun direction mechanism did not work.

Vaskhud 2 landed on March 19 in a snowy forest near Perm. The spacecraft missed its target by 1000 km. The rescue teams had difficulty reaching her. The spacecraft was found only 24 hours later. Another 24 hours passed until they opened the spacecraft doors. Until the moment of their rescue, the astronauts suffered badly.

Leoniev's space suit
Leoniev's spacesuit was a sort of miniature spaceship, made of layers of layers. The outer layer is painted white, reflects the hot rays of the sun and helps maintain a comfortable temperature in the suit. The second layer is made of a reinforced material that maintains the tightness of the suit. Another layer protects the astronaut from the heat of the sun and the freezing cold in space. A complicated heating and ventilation system was built inside the suit. The air is put into the suit at a temperature of 18-20 degrees and the air that is consumed is taken out with the help of a valve system. In the suit there is a special communication system and devices to check Leoniv's physical reactions. A 5 meter long cable comes out of the suit connected to the spaceship and prevents Leoniev from moving away. The helmet is made of metal and has a transparent part. Special gloves and shoes make the astronaut's job easier.