As Komarov prepared for the rockets to fire, the previous failures of the test flights must have weighed heavily on his mind. Strapped in above thousands of gallons of rocket fuel, there was little he could do in the event of a disaster. Even the slightest malfunction had the potential to turn the rocket into a massive bomb. But as the rockets fired, the Soyuz lifted off the launch pad, slipping through the atmosphere and into space. Komarov had a brief opportunity to take in the gentle curve of the Earth. Then it was time to get to the mission.
Immediately, the problems with the craft were obvious. One of the solar panels that provided power to the Soyuz failed to deploy. Even worse, the exhaust from the reaction control system on the craft interfered with the sensors Komarov needed to maneuver. After a few orbits, the systems that stabilized the ship had failed. There was little that Komarov could do now except drift through space. Back on the ground, mission control was struggling to adjust the plan so that they could continue the mission. Soyuz 2, which was scheduled to lift off shortly, would now need to fix Komarov’s solar panels and control systems during the rendezvous.
But that night, a thunderstorm rolled in over the launch site in Kazakhstan. The storm disrupted the electrical systems in Soyuz 2’s boosters. The flight had to be scrapped. Komarov, still in orbit, would get no help from Earth. The only option now was for the cosmonaut to somehow get his failing ship back to Earth. With most of his maneuvering systems knocked out, the only option was to retrofire back toward the planet’s surface. This would knock the craft out of orbit and allow Komarov to re-enter the atmosphere.
It sounds simple, but in reality, it was anything but. Komarov relied on the ship’s sensors to orient himself, and none of them were working. Thinking quickly, ground control worked out a way for Komarov to navigate by sighting the moon in his periscope. With his fuel running low, the cosmonaut managed to guide his ship onto the right course and fired the engines. The craft shuddered as it moved out of orbit. The Soyuz was designed to survive the trip through the atmosphere. But while the return trip was supposed to be safe, it wasn’t comfortable.
As the Soyuz 1 moved from the vacuum of space into the atmosphere, gravity gently began to pull Komarov down. As the ship skimmed through the atmosphere, the pull became more intense. Friction built up around the craft. Super-heated plasma licked the windows. The ship shook violently as Komarov was plastered to the back of his seat. Komarov was now in a man-made meteor hurtling through the atmosphere on a collision course with the ground. He had to remain calm. He had to hope that the ship which had failed him so many times already would still see him safely back to Earth.