A cosmonaut who tragically died during the Soviet Union’s 50th anniversary celebrations had some chilling final words as he fell from space.
Vladimir Komarov, the doomed cosmonaut of Soyuz 1, would go down in history as “the man who fell from space.”
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Vladimir Komarov was killed in a devastating incident. Credit: Bettmann / Getty
The plan was that two spacecraft – Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 2 – would launch separately into orbit. Komarov would ride Soyuz 1 first, wait in space for a day, then be joined by Soyuz 2.
The ships would rendezvous mid-orbit, and Komarov was to perform a spacewalk, crawling from his capsule into Soyuz 2, per Vice.
A 10-page memo reportedly detailed the faults. But no one dared hand it over to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, per NPR.
The book Starman claims Gagarin and other close friends begged Komarov to refuse the mission.
They feared he wouldn’t survive the flight. But Komarov allegedly refused, not out of loyalty to the mission, but to protect Gagarin. If he pulled out, Komarov knew they would send his friend instead.
In a haunting move, Komarov reportedly requested an open-casket funeral — perhaps a final act of defiance against those sending him to certain death.
On launch day, Gagarin didn’t follow standard procedure. He demanded a pressure suit and went to the launchpad to speak to Komarov. Some believe he was trying to delay or sabotage the launch. If so, it didn’t work.
Komarov boarded Soyuz 1 and blasted into orbit.
Once in space, things fell apart quickly. One of the solar panels failed to deploy, leaving the spacecraft with limited power, per IFL Science.
Ground control ordered a descent. But the reentry sequence spiraled out of control. Komarov couldn’t orient the spacecraft.
The heat shield faced the wrong way. The parachutes failed, and Soyuz 1 slammed into the Earth with the force of a 2.8-ton meteorite.
According to Starman, Komarov’s final words – intercepted by U.S. listening stations in Turkey – were filled with fury and despair: “This devil ship! Nothing I lay my hands on works properly.”
The book describes him crying out in rage as he fell toward the ground.
The Soviet Union’s official account paints a much calmer final moment. Their transcripts recorded Komarov saying: “I feel excellent, everything’s in order,” followed by “Thank you for transmitting all of that. [Separation] occurred.”
Then came silence.
“Rubin, this is Zarya, how do you hear me? Over,” ground control repeated.
“Rubin, this is Zarya, how do you hear me? Over. This is Zarya, how do you hear me? Over.”
