Second human to orbit Earth and builder of Soviet military space systems
"Once you have your arms and legs arranged properly, space sleep is fine... I slept like a baby." — the first human to sleep in orbit, Vostok 2, August 1961.
Soviet cosmonaut and military space commander. On 6 August 1961, aboard Vostok 2, he became the second human to orbit Earth; his 17-orbit, 25-hour flight, the first long-duration mission, proved humans could eat, sleep, and work in space. At 25, he remains the youngest orbital pilot in history. He was the first to manually pilot a spacecraft, the first to film Earth from orbit, and the first to experience space sickness. After his flight he led cosmonaut training for the Spiral orbital spaceplane, and from 1979 to 1991 served as First Deputy Chief of GUKOS/UNKS, the USSR Ministry of Defence space directorate, overseeing military space systems including the Marshal Nedelin-class tracking ships. Elected to the Russian State Duma as a CPRF member (1993–2000).
Career Timeline
- 1957Graduated Stalingrad Military Aviation School; fighter pilot, Leningrad Military District
- 1960Selected in first cosmonaut group
- 1961.04Backup pilot for Vostok 1 (Yuri Gagarin)
- 1961.08Vostok 2 — 17 orbits, 25 hr 18 min; second human to orbit Earth
- 1965–1968Head of cosmonaut training group for Spiral orbital spaceplane
- 1968Graduated Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy
- 1972Graduated General Staff Military Academy; Deputy Chief of Space Command and Control
- 1973–1979Deputy Chief of GUKOS for research and development
- 1979–1991First Deputy Chief of UNKS, USSR MoD; Lt. Gen. → Col. Gen.
- 1993–2000Deputy, Russian State Duma (CPRF)