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Painting of Soyuz 5 burning through atmosphere.
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Mishaps of the Space Age
1969: Soyuz 5
As part of the reentry procedure at the end of his flight
aboard Soyuz 5, cosmonaut Boris Volynov had to jettison his
spacecraft's extra modules. But when he fired the explosive
separation bolts, the Equipment Module failed to fully
separate and blocked the ship's heat shield. Volynov lost
control, and the Soyuz 5 began to tumble in space. It finally
stabilized but with its nose, the thinnest part of the
vehicle, facing forward. As the vehicle entered the
atmosphere, it began to burn up and its structure to fail.
Miraculously, stresses on the ship finally dislodged the
Equipment Module, and the ship righted itself.
Volynov's troubles were not over, however. Damaged during
reentry, the spacecraft's parachutes only partially deployed,
making for a near-fatal landing. When ground searchers finally
found the wrecked spacecraft, Volynov was not there. He had
staggered to a nearby peasant hut, where he had kept warm
until the rescue team discovered him.
Continue: 1970
Image: Ichimatsu Magura/Newton Press.
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