Facts about Cosmonauts

1. 08

   Astronaut Mikhail Korsanov logged 3,786 total hours in space across seven missions between 1989 and 2007, making him one of the most experienced cosmonauts ever.

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2. 07

   Yuri Gagarin died in a MiG-15 training jet crash on March 27, 1968, at age 34, just seven years after his historic orbital flight.

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3. 06

   Three cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 7K-TM in 1971 survived a cabin depressurization accident at 168 kilometers altitude through rapid manual re-pressurization procedures.

   CosmonautsMay 14sharesafetysoyuz1971
4. 05

   Alexei Leonov performed the first spacewalk on March 18, 1965, spending 12 minutes outside Voskhod 2 at an altitude of 495 kilometers.

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5. 04

   In 1975, Soviet cosmonauts Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Georgy Patsayev died during reentry of Soyuz 11 after spending 23 days aboard Salyut 7 space station.

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6. 03

   Sergei Korolev, the chief designer of the Soviet space program, remained anonymous to the world until after his death in 1966 due to Cold War secrecy.

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7. 02

   Valentina Tereshkova completed 48 orbits around Earth in 70 hours and 50 minutes aboard Vostok 6 in June 1963, becoming the first woman in space.

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8. 01

   On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, orbiting Earth in 108 minutes aboard Vostok 1.

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