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posted 11-22-2009 08:46 AM               

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The Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos reports that Voskhod 1 cosmonaut Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov passed away on November 21, 2009 at age 83.

Konstantin Feoktistov, spacecraft designer and first scientist in space, dies at 83

A member of the first three-person space crew whose flight was onboard a vehicle he helped design, cosmonaut Konstantin Feoktistov passed away at age 83 on Saturday, Nov. 21, according to a statement by the Russian space agency Roscosmos...

Editor's note: I met Feoktistov in May 1997 at the opening of the National Air and Space Museum's Space Race gallery. The encounter was brief, but we shook hands and exchanged a few words.

Having spent most of this morning reading about him and writing his obituary, I only wish I knew then what I know of his life now... another remarkable individual lost.

A moment of silence can be signified by an entry with no words and only a period.

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posted 11-22-2009 10:29 AM               

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Godspeed to a legendary cosmonaut and spacecraft designer. He was a brave man - in more ways than one.

RIP

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posted 11-22-2009 10:36 AM               

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Another boyhood hero gone. My . key is starting to get worn.

.

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posted 11-22-2009 01:45 PM               

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.

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Maciej,
Astronauts, Cosmonauts & their flights

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posted 11-22-2009 03:46 PM            

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I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Feoktistov in 1992 in Washington, DC and again in 1996 in Ottawa, Ontario.

.

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posted 11-22-2009 05:17 PM               

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As a tribute to Konstantin Feoktisov, I wanted to show a scan of his autograph.

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John Macco
Space Unit#1457

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posted 11-23-2009 02:20 AM               

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Although Konstantin Feoktistov and his countrymen were on the other side of the Cold War fence back then, the things they did inspired me in my early teens, while their audacious exploits only increased my desire to study and follow spaceflight history. A remarkable man and a pioneering cosmonaut who was not only shot and left to die in his youth, but who, under most normal circumstances, would have been medically disqualified from ever flying into space. And yet he made it - a man who has left a fine, indelible legacy.

Sadly, it now means that of all the pre-Soyuz missions, only the crewmembers of Vostok 5 & 6 (Bykovsky & Tereshkova) and Leonov from Voskhod 2 are still with us.

Farewell, Konstantin. Well done, sir.

Colin

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