As the Soyuz 1 fell over the steppes of Russia, the drogue parachute deployed to slow down the craft. Meanwhile, Komarov was in touch with ground control. According to the transcripts, Komarov tried to reassure his comrades that everything was fine. “I feel excellent,” he said. “Everything’s in order.” Ground control was also optimistic. “Understood,” they replied. “Our comrades here recommend that you take a deep breath. We’re waiting for the landing.” That transmission was the last anyone ever heard from Komarov. Though he didn’t know it, disaster was waiting.
Though the main parachute deployed, it failed to open. The sudden jerk Komarov would have been expecting as the cute caught the air never came. Realizing something was wrong, Komarov deployed the reserve chute. It too failed to open, becoming tangled in the drogue chute. There was no nothing to slow the craft’s fall. The Soyuz reentry module impacted the ground at full speed. A rescue helicopter arrived shortly afterward and saw the module laying on its side, tangled up in its parachutes. A few seconds later, the thrusters that were supposed to help the module slow down before landing fired automatically.
By the time the rescuers arrived, the module was in flames. Black smoke filled the air, and the heat was so intense that the metal began to melt. The rescuers desperately tried to extinguish the blaze with fire extinguishers. When those didn’t work, they frantically began shoveling dirt onto the flames. By the time the fire burned out, the module had completely disintegrated into a smoking pile of debris. Inside, the rescuers found what was left of Komarov’s body still strapped into his seat. An autopsy confirmed that he had probably died during the initial crash.
The Soviet space program was famously secretive. But Komarov’s death couldn’t be hidden from the public. A public announcement was made, and Komarov’s ashes were laid to rest in the walls of the Kremlin in a state funeral. Gagarin, meanwhile, was deeply affected by the death of his friend. According to a rumor that circulated later, Gagarin confronted Leonid Brezhnev, the leader of the Soviet Union, over the crash and threw a drink in his face. This almost certainly isn’t true, but it makes for a satisfying image and probably reflects some of what Gagarin was actually feeling. Like many stories surrounding the crash, it’s hard to pick the truth out of the Cold War myth.
What is certain is that the crash made it impossible for the Soviet high command to ignore the problems with the Soyuz program. And it meant that the plan to put a man on the moon had to be delayed. By the time the Soviets were approaching the capability to carry out a moon mission, the Americans had beaten them to the punch. While the failure of the Soyuz 1 cost the Soviet’s the Space Race, Komarov’s sacrifice resulted in a program that was safer and more effective. Today, countries around the world rely on the Soyuz to deliver their astronauts safely to the International Space Station.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“A Cosmonaut’s Firey Death Retold”. Robert Krulwich, NPR. May 2011.