Astronauts and Cosmonauts

Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov arrives at the Soviet space launch site, Tyuratam, for the Soyuz 1 launch. Soyuz 1 was successfully launched on April, 23, 1967. When it returned to Earth, its parachute lines became tangled and the parachutes failed to open properly, causing the space vehicle to crash and killing Komarov

Eileen Collins was the first woman to command a space mission on the STS-93 Space Shuttle flight.

Sally K. Ride, America’s first female astronaut.

Crew of the first Space Shuttle flight: John W. Young, commander, and Robert L. Crippen, pilot

The cosmonauts Viktor Patsayev, Georgi Dobrovolsky, and Vladislav Volkov in the Soyuz simulator during their mission training. Originally, they were the Soyuz 11 backup crew, but when Valery Kubasov from the original crew became ill, the crews were changed. Soyuz 11 was launched on June 6, 1971, and docked with the first Soviet space station, Salyut 1 the next day. It was the first time a space station was manned. At the end of their mission, the Soyuz 11 crew returned to Earth, but were found dead in the space vehicle after landing. A critical valve in the descent module had been jerked open as Soyuz 11 de-orbited and bled the cosmonauts’ air out into space.

Apollo 8 crew. From left to right James A. Lovell Jr., William A. Anders, and Frank Borman.

On June 3, 1965 Edward H. White II became the first American to step outside his spacecraft and let go, effectively setting himself adrift in the zero gravity of space. For 23 minutes White floated and maneuvered himself around the Gemini spacecraft while logging 6500 miles during his orbital stroll.