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I read in _Berlin 1961_ that Gagarin was sent into space on Khrushchev's orders before the engineers wanted him to do, largely so he could feel an advantage ove
by hkt 6y ago
I read in _Berlin 1961_ that Gagarin was sent into space on Khrushchev's orders before the engineers wanted him to do, largely so he could feel an advantage over JFK when inviting him to talk about the problems of East Germany (namely mass migration to West Germany.)
The previous cosmonaut apparently cursed Khrushchev as he realised he was going to die in a flight a month before. He burned to death. I don't recall the name or other circumstances but recommend the book.
- p_l 6y agoKomarov died in 1967, 6 years later, during first test flight of the Soyuz capsule, and cosmonauts considered the test plan rushed. Yuri Gagarin publicly spoke against mismanagement by program director.
- chupasaurus 6y agoThe previous cosmonauts before Gagarin were 2 dogs who couldn't curse Khruschev and they'd returned alive and well.
- Koshkin 6y agoThe first canine cosmonaut was Laika (Sputnik-2, 1957, one month after Sputnik-1). It was a one-way trip though.
- hkt 6y agoWell, it turns out the quite entertaining history book I mentioned above has peddled a conspiracy theory. I'm a little surprised, and more than a little hurt, that a respected writer would slip something like this into a work of nonfiction. So, sorry and thank you HN, I feel less wrong than I was before.