I consider myself extremely lucky. I work for our current space program, and I've been fortunate enough to work closely with several astronauts from different programs. I had the fortune to visit the RKK Energiya Museum a while ago and it was one of the most impressive things I've ever encountered. While the hardware I got to see (and touch!) was incredible (starting with Vostok 1), it was the stories from engineers who had been around a while that just blew me away. There's too much for a blog comment but I'll share one of my favorites. I’ll make a disclaimer not being responsible for the veracity of this story, although it at least mostly seems to line up with the basic recorded history of the program.

The story I was told was that Khrushchev was angry when the U.S. Project Gemini (crew of 2) was announced in 1963 because Vostok was really limited to 1 person. Korolyev had already planned Soyuz (crew of 3 for 1965) but the funds were not made available to pursue it. Then after Gemini came to light, Khrushchev told Korolyev he had a few months to build a 3 cosmonaut capsule and beat the U.S. to a multi-man misison. Knowing it was an impossible task with the time and limited funds, Korolyev went to his engineers and said «we have to figure out how to put 3 people inside Vostok.» There were few good ideas but one engineer, Konstantin Feoktistov suggested removing redundant parachutes, getting rid of the ejection system, flying the cosmonauts without pressure suits, and adding terminal descent rockets to the parachute shroud lines (they ignite just at touchdown) to cancel out the impact that would break your back. This was extremely risky and basically just a bad idea from an engineering perspective. However with the political pressure both internally and internationally, Korolyev felt forced to proceed. He told Feoktistov that he would be in charge of the design, and he would fly the first mission. Talk about job incentives!

The fact Vokshod flew even once is just amazing. I have immense respect for every Russian engineer that contributed and continues to contribute to the space program. They worked under such adverse conditions and did so much. Every year I think its very important to celebrate April 12th for the Russians that made it happen, and the species they represented when they made that achievement. I imagine the world will be a better place when more people are able to behold the entire Earth with a single gaze.

Happy April 12th everyone!