🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <4121@iris.mincom.oz.au>, marks@iris (Mark Stavar) writes:
>I recall reading that at some point earlyish in the Russian space
>programme that there was a retro mis-fire on one of their missions.
>This lead to the unfortunate situation of the space craft in question
>flying off directly into the sun.  The story mentioned something about
>the wife of the cosmonaut in question being in radio contact with him
>up to the very end.

Wow.  Given the delta-V requirement to cause a spacecraft in earth orbit to go
"flying off directly into the sun", this report has to be mistaken.

The first Soviet orbital test of the Vostok spacecraft (variously called
Sputnik 4 or Korabl Sputnik 1) was intended to demonstrate the spacecraft's
performance in orbit as well as test its retrofire system.  According to the
launch announcement, it did not have a heat shield, and so would be destroyed
by its encounter with the atmosphere after retrofire.  In the actual event, KS1
was aligned almost exactly 180 degrees out of position for retrofire, so the
retrofire had the effect of boosting it into a higher orbit, from which it
eventually decayed months later.

I have read reports that Komarov on Soyuz 1 had a farewell message for his wife
before his ultimately fatal reentry, but I have no way of knowing whether or
not this is true.  It's the kind of thing that tends to get reported even if it isn't
true.

The tale you report sounds like it could have its basis in those two incidents.

>I have no hard material evidence with which to back up this story - it
>may be plain wrong.

That would be my guess.

(I have received email from Ken Schmahl which says that near the end of
_Spycatcher_ there is a report of a Soviet cosmonaut being stranded in orbit
and transmitting for hours before dying.  My first impression is that this
sounds a lot like the other unreputable reports I have read, but since I think
this source is supposed to be more reliable than average, I'm going to give it
a look).
--
Chris Jones    clj@ksr.com