Cosmonaut Volkov. Three fates, one surname

Forty-two years ago, in 1971, on June 30, all the radio stations and television centers of the USSR reported a sad news about the death of the crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft. Courageous conquerors of space fulfilled the flight task, all the goals were successfully achieved, and the tasks were solved.

Death awaited G. Dobrovolsky, V. Patsayev and V. Volkov where it was difficult to guess. The simplest valve consisting of a ball and a spring did not close, as a result there was a depressurization of the descent vehicle. At that time, three people could fit in the descent vehicle only without spacesuits, the crew members were fastened with belts, they could not close the hole.

The whole of the country was grieving about the lost cosmonauts , there were no indifferent people. People cried near newsstands, tram stops, schools, institutes and workshops. The road to the stars has always been the lot of courageous people ready to risk their lives for the sake of a great goal.

Cosmonaut Volkov Vladislav Nikolayevich was buried in the Kremlin wall with his space companions - Georgi Dobrovolsky and Victor Patsaev.

Fourteen years have passed. In 1985, Baikonur escorted Soyuz T-14 to a dangerous space flight. The task was to dock with the orbital station, consisting of two modules - Soyuz T-13 and Salyut-7. Almost 65 days the crew of the scientific complex worked in orbit, and in its composition - cosmonaut Volkov. Yes, another. Alexander Alexandrovich was not a relative of that Volkov, just a namesake. He happened to visit the space three times, including in the international crews.

The space of the XXI century is stormed by another astronaut Volkov. He dreams of flying to the moon, and, quite possibly, he will succeed. Sergei Volkov is an astronaut in the second generation, behind him are two missions, exits in open space, hundreds of hours spent in weightlessness, and he is only forty years old. About his profession, he knew firsthand, having spent his childhood in Baikonur. Father was not happy with the choice of his son and learned about it only after reading the report with a request to be included in the cosmonaut detachment.

Thus, a dynasty was formed, the first in the world among representatives of this dangerous profession. From the ethical considerations, the astronaut Volkov the elder submitted a report on the dismissal to the reserve, giving way to his son. Well, a choice worthy of a real officer and a man. They do not like such work for blat.

Three cosmonauts, three fates and one surname. So, a reminder for those who are interested in the history of Soviet and Russian astronautics (this was not in any country, so it's important not to confuse): Vladislav Volkov - the first-set cosmonaut enrolled in the detachment in 1966, Alexander Volkov completed his first flight In the mid-eighties, and his son Sergei started in the third millennium.

And there is also a research vessel "Cosmonaut Volkov", which provides communication with satellites. Breeders created a sort of tomato, named after the hero. The astronomers dedicated to him the star they discovered. All this in honor of Vladislav Volkov, but it is possible that the next generation of Russian cosmonauts will be honored that their names sparkle in the starry sky of planetariums and astronomical maps.