The Vostok program - the first time people said hello to each other in space - including the first woman

In the early days of space exploration, the astronauts also served as guinea pigs

introduction
Russia's (former USSR) six first manned operations were carried out using Vostok spacecraft. These spaceships were intended for one person only. These flights were characterized by pioneering and boldness in which Russia was ahead of the USA. Yuri Gagarin was the first astronaut to orbit the Earth. As part of Operation Vostok, biological and medical experiments were conducted in which they tried to test the astronauts' ability to stay in space for a long time. Their physiological functions were tested, reactions of liquids under weightlessness conditions were tested, as this was known to be important both for the physiological processes in the astronauts' bodies and for their nutritional needs. The medical tests also included the functioning of the central nervous system and its ability to operate in space flight conditions, as well as the functioning of the heart and vascular system, metabolism, activity of the senses, and more.

All the astronauts tested in the experiments that followed discovered the ability to withstand weightlessness, the pulse was normal. No deviations were detected in other medical data and no abnormalities were noted in their motor movements. There were astronauts who got out of the chair harnesses and performed medical exercises such as German Titov.
In addition to the medical tests, experiments were also conducted on various plants and animals. It turned out that the flights cause various genetic disorders in bacteria, changes in the array of chromosomes and disturbances in the process of cell division were discovered. According to the results of the tests, it became clear that the changes in the chromosomes were caused by the gravity of the earth and the vibrations of the spacecraft, while the disturbances in the process of cell division were caused by the effect of the lack of weight in which they are kept. In contrast, no effects were detected on carrot seeds, tomatoes, peas, wheat and other plants tested on these flights.

The launch vehicle
The Vostok spacecraft is launched using an RNV rocket. It is a missile consisting of 21 rocket engines. First stage, 4 separate boosters attached to the body. The second main stage and the third stage. Take out its last stage one engine, for the first stage the 4 accelerators 16 engines, 4 engines in each accelerator, and in the second stage 4 engines. In total, the missile developed a thrust of 570 tons. The height of the missile is 38 meters.

The structure of the spaceship
The Vostok spacecraft is intended for one person and is capable of staying in space for 10 days. The spaceship is made of 3 parts, the command cabin, the toilet cabin and the third stage of the launch vehicle. The instrument compartment is connected to the command compartment via 4 pairs of grippers. The spacecraft is 7.2 meters long and weighs 6.2 tons (4.7 meters without the third stage). Outside the spacecraft are special blinds that protect it from various radiations that exist in space.

the control room
The command cell is a spherical cell with a diameter of 3.15 meters and a weight of 2.4 tons. The cell is coated with an insulating material to maintain an internal temperature of 15-22 degrees Celsius even when it enters the atmosphere for landing. The cabin has 3 openings for a parachute, instruments and an entrance opening for an astronaut. 3 windows allow observation of space, the earth and photography. To protect the astronaut's eyes, each window has a cover. The window in the front is equipped with sophisticated optical devices used by the astronaut when manual navigation is required.

Instrumentation
Above the front porthole is the control panel. It includes a pressure gauge, a thermometer, devices for measuring the composition of the air, the gas pressure in the tanks of the navigation system, a clock to measure the time from the moment of launch to landing, communication, a steering wheel and a radio transmitter. In the upper part is a globe of the earth that rotates on two axes at the same time and is synchronized with the orbital movement of the spacecraft with the movement of the earth. Under the control panel is a TV camera for taking pictures of the cell.

To the left of the astronaut are a parachute, a drinking water tank, a landing control panel, a voice recorder, the control panel of the spacecraft's instruments, the spacecraft's heat source and the helmsmen. To the right is a food tank, an air fan, an electronic clock, a TV camera, a radio receiver, a sanitary system and an electronic battery for the spacecraft's systems. The spaceship has 240 indicators, 56 electronic operation switches of various sizes and over 6000 transistors. The astronaut is protected from various radiations such as cosmic radiation and the solar wind. A Geiger counter in the spacecraft is used for early warnings.

תקשורת
In the spaceship are some radios. A radio receiver for partial transmission of the information and for determining the state of the spacecraft in space, two radio telephone devices, a UHF bus for calls from distances between 1400 - 1900 km, a bus for transmitting control orders, a telemetry system for determining the physiological state of the astronauts and data on the spacecraft. The antennas are in the nose of the spacecraft and come out of the body of the spacecraft. Near the antennas are parts of the orbital propulsion system.

The composition of the air
The cell's atmosphere consists of 24% oxygen and the rest nitrogen, helium and carbon dioxide.

The chair
Special connecting rings allow the chair to move by two degrees, and allow the astronaut a 360 degree space. The equipment in the spacecraft is arranged so that the astronaut will not be harmed during his work.

landing
Landing is automatic. Towards the end of the flight, the navigation system is activated and takes the spacecraft out of its orbit. The braking engines slow the speed of the spacecraft to 30 meters per second. The command compartment was disconnected from the instrument compartment and the third stage of the missile. At an altitude of 4 km, a parachute opens and the braking stops are exposed. At an altitude of 2.4 km, the brakes are activated and the main parachute is deployed.

The astronaut can parachute personally without the cockpit. At an altitude of 7 km, the entrance door is deflected, two seconds later the astronaut is blown out with his chair by small engines and the personal parachute is deployed. At an altitude of 4 km, the astronaut detached from the chair and it falls freely to the ground. The astronaut continues his descent. It is equipped with a food ration, a radio and a small boat in case of a water landing.

Yuri Gagarin
On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin was launched in the Vostok 1 spacecraft. The weight of the spacecraft was 4725 kg. It circled the Earth at a speed of 27,000 km in an orbit with a distance of 180-327 km from the ground and an inclination angle of 64.95 degrees, and the duration of its orbit of the Earth was 89.1 minutes. Gagarin's flight lasted 108 minutes. When the spacecraft passed over Africa, the braking engines were activated. This action was done according to a wireless order transmitted from the control center and not by Gagarin. The space engineers did not let Gagarin steer the spacecraft because they did not know what his medical condition was. They didn't want to endanger him. The landing was in Saratov, 440 km from Moscow.

The flight was controlled by the automatic guidance system, although Gagarin could have controlled the spacecraft manually. The lack of weight did not affect Gagarin. He felt well, ate and drank as usual and wrote reports on the observations he made. The handwriting did not change due to the lack of weight and its ability to work was not impaired. The transition from weightlessness to the gravity of the earth was gradual.

German Titov
Two weeks after the flight of Virgil Grissom (American astronaut) which lasted 15 minutes, on August 6, 1961, a Russian astronaut circled the Earth in a time of 25 minutes and 18 minutes. It was German Titov. He circled the Earth 17.5 times in the Vostok 2 spacecraft. Titov circled the Earth in an orbit whose distance from the ground is 183-244 km. The inclination angle is 64.93 degrees and the duration of the Earth's orbit is 88.5 minutes. The weight of the spacecraft is 4731 kg.

The goals of the flight were to test the effects of the prolonged orbital flights and landing on the human body. During the flight Titov ate, exercised and slept. He slept 9 hours and 7 minutes (37 minutes more than planned). During his flight Titov covered the entire earth. After all the coffee, the spaceship turned 22 degrees to the west. When he was ready to return, Titov activated the braking engines. The parachutes slowly lowered Vostok to the ground. Titov chose to complete the journey in his personal parachute. The landing was on August 7 in Saratov, 1000 km from the planned landing site. After the flight, Titov said that he derived pleasure from sleeping at regular times, which coincide with the sleeping times on Earth.

Two hours after his launch, Titov felt as if he was flying downwards. This feeling disappeared after a while and he could perform his tasks normally. The feeling reached its peak 6 hours later. He felt dizzy when he moved his head in certain directions, among other things his appetite weakened. Only after sleeping did he feel better, especially when he learned to avoid sudden movements of his head.

Titov returned to Israel with damage to his ears. He felt dizzy and had to lie down for a few minutes until this sensation subsided. He was sent for a long period of hospitalization. This problem is probably related to the inner ear. An important role is played by the otoliths - small bones that exert pressure on the wall of the inner ear. As a result of gravitation and information transmitted through the nerves and vice versa, the otoliths allow definition of the body's position even when the eyes are closed. It is understood that in weightlessness, especially when the head is driven quickly, an effect is created that contradicts what the eyes perceive.

Nikolaev - Popovitz
The first complex operation involving more than one spacecraft began on August 11, 1962 and ended on August 15. Each spacecraft had one astronaut. Andrian Nikolayev in Vostok 3, "Majestic Eagle" and Pavel Popovich in Vostok 4, "Hawk". The two spacecraft were launched 24 hours apart. The objectives of the operation were:

1. A. Collect information about the effect of space flights on the human body.
2. B. To examine the astronaut's actions in weightlessness - Nikolaev freed himself from the straps that tied him to his seat and moved freely inside the spaceship.
3. third. To conduct psychological tests - to test people's thinking ability under unusual conditions. The astronauts performed mathematical calculations.
4. d. Collect scientific information on space flight conditions and improve them. This included these things:

• - Finding a final solution to the problem involving the launch of a spaceship in an orbit, in which another spaceship is already moving. The Russian space scientists hoped to obtain information on the way to establish contact between spacecraft, to coordinate the actions of the astronauts and to test the effect of identical flight conditions on the astronauts.
• - Improvement of the navigation method.
• - Improvement in the means of communication - testing means of communication in space, which are the first condition for long-term space operations.
• - Improvement in the guidance and landing operations of the spacecraft.

Animals and plants - mosquitoes, bacteria, plant seeds and various biological substances - were kept in special containers in each spaceship. Each spacecraft had a television camera. Before the launch, the Russian government (then USSR) appealed to the US government to refrain from any nuclear test that could endanger the lives of the astronauts. At the end of all the coffee, the astronauts consulted with their doctors whether to continue the flight.

Nikolaev
Nikolaev was launched in Vostok 3. His flight path, his distances from the ground ranged from 183 to 235 km, angle of inclination 64.98 degrees, duration of lap 88.3 minutes. Nikolaev circled the earth 64 times in a time of 94 hours and 22 minutes. The weight of the spacecraft was 4722 kg. In the first hours of the flight, Nikolaev navigated the spaceship by himself with his heart rate ranging from 87 to 92 per minute.

Nikolaev deviated from the plan in his flight and also carried out private experiments. "I took a half-full bottle with me and when I reached a state of weightlessness, the water stuck to the sides of the bottle, while the air remained in the middle. The situation remained unchanged, even when I shook the bottle." The astronauts ate for the first time in a normal format. To avoid malfunctions in the spacecraft's delicate systems, Nikolaev operated a vacuum cleaner to remove bread crumbs. The moon illuminated his room with such a bright light that he could have extinguished the light.

Popovitz
Pavel Popovich launched Vostok 4 on August 12 and circled the Earth 68 times in a time of 70 hours and 57 minutes. The flight path was 180 -237, the inclination angle 64.95 km and the lap time 88.4 minutes. The weight of the spacecraft is 4728 km. Shortly after Popovitz's launch, the approach test was conducted, during which the spaceships came closer to a distance of 6.5 km from each other. Before the meeting, Nikolaev slowed down the speed of his spaceship and Popovitz increased the speed. Flying in the same orbit, both spacecraft circled the Earth once in 84 minutes. During the approach, the heart rate of Nikolaev and Popovitz was between 65-70 per minute. The temperature in Vostok 3 was 17 degrees and in Vostok 4 24 degrees. The air pressure and humidity in both spacecraft was as planned.

The approach attempt made by the astronauts allowed them radio contact and eye contact. Nikolayev and Popovitz saw each other through the windows of their spaceships. At the end of the experiment, the astronauts cut off contact and fell asleep for a few hours. During and after the experiment, the astronauts worked without space suits. The disorders that caused Titov's loss of balance and nausea were not felt by Nikolaev and Popovitz, even though they stayed longer in space.
Every time Nikolaev tried to untie the straps and left his seat, he would float in the spaceship. In order to move he had to touch the sides of the spaceship and then he would move slowly and smoothly. The spacecraft deviated slightly from their orbit. The flight path was corrected with the help of the spacecraft's instruments and instructions from the center. Over 14 TV broadcasts were held. The USSR rejected a proposal by American television companies to try to transmit a live television broadcast from the spacecraft using the American Telster communications satellite.

Before landing, Nikolayev and Popovitz disconnected their cells from the spacecraft. The braking engines slowed the speed of the spacecraft while still in orbit. The cells penetrated the atmosphere and the astronauts dropped out of them. During the landing run, the sides of the spaceships lit up in flames of different colors - red, green, blue and others. Very interesting explosive sounds were also heard during the landing (Nikolaiev). Nikolaev was afraid that the side of the shield would be dislodged. It was a false fear.

Popovitz landed 6 minutes after Nikolaev. The first medical examination after landing showed that their health was excellent. Nikolayev and Popovich landed on August 15 near Karaganda in Kazakhstan, 300 km east of the landing site. During their flight the astronauts photographed the moon and various stars.

Bikovsky - Tarshkova
This operation is similar to the operation of Nikolayev and Popovitz, except that there is a certain difference in the composition of the team. This is the first time a woman participates in a space flight. The astronauts who participated in this operation were Valery Bikovsky, who was launched in the Vostok 5 spacecraft on June 14, 1963, and Valentina Trashkova, who was launched two days later, on June 16, in the Vostok 6 spacecraft.

As in the previous operation, the two spaceships approached to a distance of 5 km from each other and maintained radio contact. In addition to this, they performed various gymnastics exercises. On June 18, the astronauts lowered the temperature in the spacecraft for research purposes. Both spacecraft flew in the same orbit and were equipped with automatic navigation based on the Sun and manual navigation influenced by the Earth.

Objectives of the operation:

• - To study the effect of space on the human organism and to perform a comparative analysis between men and women which is intended for new medical research.
• - To perfect the systems of the manned spacecraft.

Bykowski
Bikovsky flew in a route whose distance from the ground is 175-222 km, the angle of inclination is 64.97 degrees and the duration of the lap is 88.3 minutes. Bikovsky circled the earth 81 times in a time of 119 hours and 6 minutes. The weight of the spacecraft is 4720 kg. On one of the first laps, Bikowski used the manual control system to test the navigation mechanism. That day he conducted physical tests, tested short and ultra short wave communication and collected information about the Earth and the Moon. In the 18th lap, Bikovsky floated in a spaceship.

On June 18, the spacecraft deviated from its course by a rate of 300 km. The day before, on June 17, the spacecraft began to lose altitude and the next day the descent reached alarming proportions. The spacecraft lost 42 km from its epigeo. On June 20, Bikovsky landed 500 km northwest of Karaganda. Bikovsky called himself a "falcon."

Trashkova

Trashkova flew the same route as Bikovsky, except that the distances of this route were 118 - 231 km. The angle of inclination is 65 degrees and the duration of the entire lap is 88.3 minutes. The weight of the spacecraft is 4713 kg. Trashkova circled the Earth 48 times in 70 hours and 50 minutes. 6 minutes after Bykovsky completed the 33rd lap, Trashkova completed the first lap, passing near where Bykovsky's spaceship was. Trashkova landed on the 19th. During the landing, her nose was slightly damaged. According to the original plan, her flight was supposed to be one day. Since the flight was successful, it was decided to extend it to three days.

She called herself "Seagull". The photographs of the launches were broadcast on the Eastern European television network, recorded in Finland, broadcast to London and recorded on film that was flown to the British ground station Gunhill Dance. From there, the images were transferred to the USA via the Telster 2 communications satellite and broadcast on American television networks.
A few years after the flight it became clear that when Trashkova entered the spacecraft she had her period. It was too late to cancel her flight. She complained of headaches, dizziness and nausea. The telemetry devices reported a normal heart rate and blood pressure and it was decided not to stop the flight prematurely. Trashkova landed weak and exhausted. She needed medical attention after landing.

The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev wanted to make a propaganda achievement out of the program and forced Nikolaev and Treshkova to marry. The two had a daughter, but they divorced in 1982.

The first woman in space - anniversary of Valentina Tereshkova's flight (June 17, 2013)

Adrian Nikolayev, one of the first cosmonauts, died (July 22, 2004)