An Analysis of the Soyuz 1 Flight
On Wednesday, 19 April 1967, Reuters reported that rumours about a sensational new Soviet space shot in the next few days were circulating in Moscow (5). On Saturday, 22 April 1967, well-informed sources in Moscow told western newsmen in Moscow that two space ships with a total of 5-6 cosmonauts would be launched starting the following day. The sources also indicated some cosmonauts would switch ships in flight and land in a different craft from the one they were launched in. Vladimir Komarov was named commander of the group of two space ships(6). Valery Bykovsky was rumoured to be involved in the new flight because of his recent absence from official functions in Moscow. We now know that these rumours were essentially true. If all had gone well, Soyuz-2 would have been launched at 0010 UT on 24 April with Bykovsky, Yelisyev, and Khrunov on board.
