4 ms·

I don't think the transcript of the descent is plausible - no mention of the problem with the parachutes?

m0zg 8y ago
FWIW, the Russian Wikipedia mentions the following: during descent the drag parachute failed to deploy the main parachute, either because they screwed up during manufacturing (there was supposed to be some paper between the parachute and the box which it was in, and instead the box got hot, the paint melted, and the parachute stuck to it; a hypothesis - there is no evidence - but a plausible one), or because of thermal protection, or because the walls of the parachute compartment caved in because of pressure differential. The main parachute did actually deploy later, but got tangled up in the straps of the drag parachute which was supposed to be blown off by an explosive device, which didn't fire. It is true that the flight was in response to the increased number of US flights over the preceding year. But I wouldn't necessarily say the catastrophe was caused by the rushed schedule here (remember, this was the _very first_ manned flight of the Soyuz), nor would I say that anyone was "saving" anyone else, or that Komarov knowingly embarked on a death mission. To say so would imply mind-reading powers, and I don't know anyone who possesses them, least of all some American dudes who wrote the book to make a buck. The Wikipedia article also says the Soviets stopped manned flights for a year and a half after this disaster. All three of the hypothetical flaws in the parachute system were preemptively addressed, the Soyuz was considerably re-designed to improve safety, and six additional unmanned flights were carried out to make sure shit like this never happens again. To this day, only two of Soyuz capsules resulted in crew loss out of 142 launches, and Soyuz is considered the world's safest manned space platform, and also the only one that's operational at the moment. To "embellish" a tragedy like this is extremely disrespectful and irresponsible. I lived in the Soviet union in 1986 and remember when Challenger blew up Russians reacted with shock and commiseration, not some bullshit "embellishment" that invents astronauts "cursing" as they plunge to their death. The capsule doesn't even have radio during the stage of the descent, where it is claimed Komarov cursed everyone, especially if it's spinning, as Soyuz-1 was, and there was no recorder left after the hydrogen peroxide fire. From this I conclude that everything that's not supported by the Soviet archive documents is total made up bullshit.
- mannykannot 8y ago
  I, too, am only interested in facts, and one fact is that the time of parachute deployment is after the period of ionization blackout. If you can point to a more complete transcript of the re-entry communications, I would be interested.

m0zg 8y ago

FWIW, the Russian Wikipedia mentions the following: during descent the drag parachute failed to deploy the main parachute, either because they screwed up during manufacturing (there was supposed to be some paper between the parachute and the box which it was in, and instead the box got hot, the paint melted, and the parachute stuck to it; a hypothesis - there is no evidence - but a plausible one), or because of thermal protection, or because the walls of the parachute compartment caved in because of pressure differential. The main parachute did actually deploy later, but got tangled up in the straps of the drag parachute which was supposed to be blown off by an explosive device, which didn't fire. It is true that the flight was in response to the increased number of US flights over the preceding year. But I wouldn't necessarily say the catastrophe was caused by the rushed schedule here (remember, this was the _very first_ manned flight of the Soyuz), nor would I say that anyone was "saving" anyone else, or that Komarov knowingly embarked on a death mission. To say so would imply mind-reading powers, and I don't know anyone who possesses them, least of all some American dudes who wrote the book to make a buck. The Wikipedia article also says the Soviets stopped manned flights for a year and a half after this disaster. All three of the hypothetical flaws in the parachute system were preemptively addressed, the Soyuz was considerably re-designed to improve safety, and six additional unmanned flights were carried out to make sure shit like this never happens again. To this day, only two of Soyuz capsules resulted in crew loss out of 142 launches, and Soyuz is considered the world's safest manned space platform, and also the only one that's operational at the moment. To "embellish" a tragedy like this is extremely disrespectful and irresponsible. I lived in the Soviet union in 1986 and remember when Challenger blew up Russians reacted with shock and commiseration, not some bullshit "embellishment" that invents astronauts "cursing" as they plunge to their death. The capsule doesn't even have radio during the stage of the descent, where it is claimed Komarov cursed everyone, especially if it's spinning, as Soyuz-1 was, and there was no recorder left after the hydrogen peroxide fire. From this I conclude that everything that's not supported by the Soviet archive documents is total made up bullshit.

mannykannot 8y ago
I, too, am only interested in facts, and one fact is that the time of parachute deployment is after the period of ionization blackout. If you can point to a more complete transcript of the re-entry communications, I would be interested.