Description:

Russian Cosmonauts


First 6 Soviet Cosmonauts In Space! Photo Signed by Gagarin, Titov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Bykovsky, and Tereshkova!

 

Semi-glossy black and white period photograph, ca. early 1960s, signed by the first 6 Soviet cosmonauts in space: Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968), Gherman Titov (1935-2000), Andriyan Nikolayev (1929-2004), Pavel Popovitch (1930-2009), Valery Bykovsky (born 1934), and Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937). Signatures inscribed in Cyrillic appear along the bottom margin canted at a 45 degree angle. In good to very good condition. Isolated surface abrasions, and wrinkled left and right edges. Minor stains to the margin only slightly affecting Tereshkova's signature. Laid down on a heavy-weight cream sheet measuring 12.75" x 9.625" overall. The photograph measures 11.5" x 8.5".

 

This triumphant photograph shows the first 6 Soviet cosmonauts to reach outer space, the commanders of the Vostok I, II, III, IV, V, and VI missions. From left to right, they appear as: Pavel Popovich, Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova, Andriyan Nikolayev, Valery Bykovsky, and Gherman Titov. The aviators are shown standing side by side and linking arms; the 5 male cosmonauts are dressed in Soviet Air Force uniforms.

 

The Soviet Union launched its Vostok space program in 1961, conducting six missions -- and achieving many firsts -- during the next two years. Cold War anxieties fueled the simultaneous development of highly competitive space programs in the United States and the Soviet Union. The two ideologically opposed juggernauts flexed their muscle in many ways, from the nuclear arms race to the Space Race.

 

Selection and training of Soviet cosmonauts began in 1959. Its first candidates were male, between 25-30, within specific height and weight parameters, and physically fit. They endured a battery of tests that measured physical and psychological endurance as well as technical skills. Most of the cosmonauts had previously served in the Soviet Air Force. Of more than 200 candidates, 20 were chosen, of which these 6 pictured cosmonauts were some. The Sochi 6, also known as the Vanguard 6, were the best and brightest of this 20-person cohort.

 

Yuri Gagarin (second from left) was the first cosmonaut and first man in space. He manned the Vostok I space capsule on April 12, 1961, making a full orbit around Earth lasting 108 minutes before parachuting into the atmosphere at 23,000 feet.

Gherman Titov (extreme right) led the Vostok II space mission on August 6, 1961, becoming the second cosmonaut and fourth man in space. On August 11, 1962, his colleague Andriyan Nikolayev (third from right), commander of Vostok III, became the third cosmonaut and seventh man in space. Pavel Popovich (extreme left), pilot of the Vostok IV, became the fourth cosmonaut and eighth man in space on August 12, 1962. The next two Vostok missions occurred in a pair almost a year later, on June 14 and June 16, 1963, when Valery Bykovsky (second from right) became the fifth cosmonaut and eleventh man to reach outer space, and Valentina Tereshkova (third from left) became the sixth cosmonaut, first woman, and twelvth person in space. A member of the female cosmonaut corps, Tereshkova had been selected from over 400 candidates.

 

A remarkable photograph signed by 6 Soviet cosmonauts, from the earliest days of the space program!

 

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