posted 08-14-2011 02:50 AM               

On August 6, 1961 at 08 hours 59 minutes 57 seconds Moscow Time (MT), launch vehicle Vostok launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome inserted into near-earth orbit space vehicle Vostok-2 operated by Cosmonaut-2 German Stepanovich Titov.

The Vostok-2 space vehicle was different in some respects from the Vostok-1 flown by the pioneer cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Following the results of the first manned space vehicle flight analysis, the specialists from OKB-1 had modified the space vehicle which made it possible to extend space flight up to one week. Also radio communication system was modernized, TV system was changed. High-frequency system 'Signal' was added to the telemetry systems, which served to take bearings of the space vehicle and duplicate medial parameters transmission.

The main objective of the launch was to perform a 24-hour manned space flight.

German Titov was the first to operate the space vehicle manually (in the1st and 7th orbits), to perform its attitude control and stabilization; he took meals, slept, took pictures of the Earth and space from the space vehicle board; took exercises; performed space filming; monitored operation of the space vehicle onboard systems.

On August 7, 1961 at 10 hours 18 minutes (MT) cosmonaut German Titov returned safely to Earth in the vicinity of settlement Krasny Kut, Saratov Region.

Daily flight preformed by German Titov allowed to come to the following conclusion: the space technology built in our country enabled human beings to live and work under near-earth orbit conditions.

posted 08-14-2011 11:09 AM            

Gherman Titov was the youngest person ever launched into space, the first to get space-sick, and the first to take along a camera.

Yuri Gagarin, incredibly, didn’t carry a camera on the world’s first spaceflight. Neither did Alan Shepard nor Gus Grissom, whose 15-minute suborbital shots followed Gagarin’s April 1961 launch by three weeks and three months, respectively. The American astronauts were photographed during their missions, but only by automated cameras mounted in the Mercury capsule.

So it was left to the fourth person in space, Gherman Titov, to become the first true extraterrestrial photographer.

posted 08-06-2021 03:10 PM               

Flight plan for cosmonaut German Titov published

In May 1961, a group of five cosmonauts began to prepare for a flight on the Vostok 2 spacecraft: V.F. Bykovsky, G.G. Nelyubov, A.G. Nikolaev, P.R. Popovich and G.S. Titov. By July 20, they completely mastered the theoretical section of the training program, underwent special types of tests and training, as well as an in-depth clinical and physiological examination at the aviation hospital (TsNIAH).

Based on this, on July 21, 1961, the head of the Cosmonaut Training Center E.A. Karpov drew up a report in which he recommended to appoint cosmonauts for the second space flight in the following order: G.S. Titov, A.G. Nikolaev and V.F. Bykovsky. As a result, the State Commission appointed G.S. Titov (call sign "Eagle"), and the backup, A.G. Nikolaev.

On Aug. 6, 1961, at 9 a.m. Moscow time, the Vostok 2 spacecraft launched into orbit. At the very first orbit, Gherman Titov tested the ship's manual orientation mode. Flying over different continents, he transmitted greetings to the peoples and countries of these regions of the Earth by radio. With the help of a professional film camera "Konvas" G.S. Titov completed a 10-minute survey of the Earth through the ship's porthole.

The РГАНТД contains a set of archival documents related to this historical event, including “Flight mission of Comrade G.S. Titov, comrade Nikolaev A.G. for the flight on the Vostok-3A spacecraft No. 4.1961. RGANTD. F.1. Op. 3-6. D 2. L. 110-116.

posted 08-06-2021 03:14 PM               

In space, you can live, eat, sleep, and, most importantly, work — proved the second cosmonaut of the planet, Gherman Titov.