The cosmonaut who spent five days alone in orbit, setting a solo spaceflight record that still stands
On 18 June 1963, while Vostok 5 was still orbiting, the Party Central Committee reviewed his application and admitted him as a full member without a candidate period.
Soviet cosmonaut, the fifth to fly in space. Launched on 14 June 1963 aboard Vostok 5, he orbited Earth 81 times over nearly five days, setting a solo space endurance record that still stands. The original Vostok plan called for two women to fly simultaneously, but the mission was restructured as one woman and one man: Bykovsky launched two days before Valentina Tereshkova. He went on to command Soyuz 22 (1976) and Soyuz 31 (1978) with East Germany's first cosmonaut Sigmund Jähn, becoming the only Vostok/Voskhod-era cosmonaut to complete three spaceflights.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1955Graduated Kachinsk Military Aviation Academy; fighter pilot
- 1960Selected in first cosmonaut group
- 1962.08Backup pilot for Vostok 3
- 1963.06.14–19Vostok 5: 81 orbits, 4 d 23 h 6 min; solo endurance record
- 1976.09.15–23Soyuz 22 commander, Earth observation mission with Vladimir Aksyonov
- 1978.08.26–09.03Soyuz 31 commander, Salyut 6 visiting mission with East German Sigmund Jähn
- 1988–1990Director, House of Soviet Science and Culture, Berlin
- 1990Retired
Related historical events
Vostok 5 and later spaceflights
In June 1963 Bykovsky piloted Vostok 5 on a flight lasting 4 days, 23 hours. He photographed Earth's horizon, observed the growth of peas, exercised, and recorded his body's response to weightlessness. On the second day, Valentina Tereshkova launched aboard Vostok 6, and the two spacecraft flew in tandem. They came within about five kilometers of each other, but did not dock. Bykovsky's flight set the record for the longest solo spaceflight.
Thirteen years later, he commanded Soyuz 22 with Vladimir Aksyonov on an Earth-observation mission. Using a multispectral camera, they took more than 2,400 images, including of Siberia, Central Asia, and Kazakhstan. On Soyuz 31 in 1978, Bykovsky and East German cosmonaut Sigmund Jähn traveled to Salyut 6, joined its resident crew, and conducted experiments. They returned aboard Soyuz 29, leaving Soyuz 31 in orbit for a later crew to bring back to Earth.