Komarov, Vladimir Mikhailovich

Born Mar. 16, 1927, in Moscow; died Apr. 24, 1967. Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, colonel-engineer, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (Oct. 19, 1964, and Apr. 24, 1967). Became a member of the CPSU in 1952.

Komarov graduated from the Moscow Special Air Force School (1945), the Bataisk Military Aviation College (1949), and the N. E. Zhukovskii Air Force Engineering Academy (1959). He joined the ranks of the cosmonauts in 1960. Komarov, K. P. Feoktistov, and B. B. Egorov were the first to complete a mission in a spaceship built for more than one occupant, the Voskhod. The ship, which was piloted by Komarov, went into orbit on Oct. 12, 1964, and during its 24-hour stay in space it orbited the earth 16 times, traveling about 700,000 km. Two-way communications were established with the spaceship, and television transmissions were organized. Komarov perished after completion of a oneday test flight in the new spaceship Soyuz-1. He was buried in Red Square in the Kremlin wall. A crater on the far side of the moon has been named for Komarov.