Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov pilots Soyuz 1. The launch initially goes well. But then the capsule begins to lose its trim and spin faster and faster. On the ground, they struggle to maintain a continuous radio link. The situation goes from desperate to irreparable. From a NATO radio station in Turkey, Perry Fellwock of the NSA records everything on tape. The Kremlin calls the cosmonaut directly. They cry. His wife calls him. He explains how to carry on with the family business. Finally, the capsule re-enters the atmosphere, the parachutes crumple, and the capsule crashes to the ground at 700 km/h. Komarov was a great friend of Yuri Gagarin. To test EOR, two Soyuz launches 24 hours apart were planned. Despite three failed, unmanned attempts, the first double launch was prepared on April 23, 1967, with Vladimir Komarov aboard this time. Gagarin himself removed Komarov’s remains from the capsule. Yuri was supposed to fly on the next Soyuz mission… Two years later, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left so-called “mementos” on the lunar surface: two Soviet medals honoring Gagarin (who died in March 1968) and Komarov, a patch commemorating Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, who died in the Apollo 1 fire, and an olive branch signifying the peaceful nature of the landing. A commemorative plaque was also left on the Moon by Apollo 15.
