backup cosmonaut

Here's something interesting - a photo of Gargarin on his way to the
launch pad - with backup Titov going along - suited up! See photo #8.

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 20:33:18 -0400, Jan Philips
wrote:

On 6 Sep 2003 23:51:07 GMT, Andrew Gray
wrote:

Um... photo #8 where? You're not posting in reply to anything (at least
not that a newsreader can tell), and there's no link... ;-)

Whoops, I forgot to paste it:
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/BROWSE/s_cosmonauts_1.html

It surprises me that backup Titov was suited up too on the way to the
launch.

I think Gagarin is the backup cosmonaut. That looks like Vladimir
Ilyushin riding in the rear seat on the way to his launch. Notice the
security team standing by him in case he makes a break for it? Maybe
we should ask Jim Oberg for a second opinion. ;-) 8-P



--
Rusty Barton - Antelope, California | Free! Free!
E-mail - | A Trip To Mars,
Visit my Titan I ICBM website at: | For 900 Empty Jars!
http://www.geocities.com/titan_1_missile | -Burma Shave-

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 17:58:25 -0700, Rusty Barton
wrote:

I think Gagarin is the backup cosmonaut. That looks like Vladimir
Ilyushin riding in the rear seat on the way to his launch. Notice the
security team standing by him in case he makes a break for it? Maybe
we should ask Jim Oberg for a second opinion. ;-) 8-P


Here is the description of the photo says otherwise, but it could be
wrong.
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2002-000168.html

From Jud:
Here's something interesting - a photo of Gargarin on his way to the
launch pad - with backup Titov going along - suited up! See photo #8.

....otherwise known as "a redundant component"!

Perhaps this is the photo you are referring to:
http://tinyurl.com/mi4i
[ http://www.spaceref.com/redirect.htm....photo-010.jpg
,

linked from: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=4390 ]


Here's the story in Gherman's own words:

______

Why Gagarin and myself were chosen -- it's difficult to say why. The
commanders chose us. But all the six of us were equally well-trained,
and each could pilot the Vostok spacecraft. It was Gagarin's character
that mattered most. You have to understand me correctly: The first man
in space in the world had to be a nice, attractive person. [We were]
told [it would be Gagarin] on the 9th of April, and journalists say
that I was so glad for Yuri that I almost went to kiss him. I was
disappointed, because I also counted that I would be the first man in
space. But as the decision had been made, what was there to do?

I had to act as the double, [or backup pilot].

....

when Yuri and I came to the spacecraft, he went in, and I went into
the minibus and drove away, and I had a short [snooze] in the van.

He landed in the Saratov area, on the left bank of the Volga. And
after the launch, [I was told] to get on the plane and to fly to meet
Gagarin. When we arrived in Kuybyshev, where Gagarin was brought, I
had one question I wished to ask: "How did the state of weightlessness
feel?" All those vibrations, that was obvious; but weightlessness was
a mystery. And as he was coming down, I saw on the ladder a group of
scientists, of military people, people from the plant. And I was
senior lieutenant, and I started to push my way through the crowd to
Gagarin. They were staring at me: "What is that senior lieutenant
doing here?" [They] thought I was an impudent, cheeky person; they
thought I was very disrespectful. I came up to Yuri, and we hugged
each other, and I asked, "How is weightlessness?" He said, "OK." And I
immediately left, because that was the only thing I was interested in.

[From http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war...rviews/titov/]
________


If Buzz ever feels bad about not being first, he can try to put
himself in Gherman's shoes on this one.


~ CT

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 22:13:47 -0400, Jan Philips
wrote:

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 17:58:25 -0700, Rusty Barton
wrote:

I think Gagarin is the backup cosmonaut. That looks like Vladimir
Ilyushin riding in the rear seat on the way to his launch. Notice the
security team standing by him in case he makes a break for it? Maybe
we should ask Jim Oberg for a second opinion. ;-) 8-P


Here is the description of the photo says otherwise, but it could be
wrong.
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2002-000168.html


It was a joke. There is an urban legend about lost Soviet Cosmonauts
who were launched prior to Gagarin and lost in orbit. One was
supposedly named Vladimir Ilyushin. Jim Oberg wrote about the myth and
provided evidence to disprove it. Gagarin was the first.




--
Rusty Barton - Antelope, California | Free! Free!
E-mail - | A Trip To Mars,
Visit my Titan I ICBM website at: | For 900 Empty Jars!
http://www.geocities.com/titan_1_missile | -Burma Shave-

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 20:33:18 -0400, Jan Philips
wrote:

It surprises me that backup Titov was suited up too on the way to the
launch.

....Not a surprise at all considering the approach the Soviets took
towards spaceflight. In those days, if one of their pilots suddenly
got sick right before launch, or simply got cold feet and pulled a
Flemming Exit Manouver (*), or was yanked at the last minute by the
local Political Officer because they found out his fourth cousin twice
removed on his grand uncle-in-law's side was a Menshevik *and* a Jew,
then the backup could simply climb into the seat and fly the mission
without wasting all the prep time and associated resources.

By contrast, if one of our Astronauts even has farts that smell weird,
or chips a tooth right before the launch, or even stands next to
someone who has a hangover, they scrub the launch *and* replace the
Astronaut...


(*) Named for famed Astro-Janitor Roy Flemming, natch.
OM

--

"No ******* ever won a war by dying for | http://www.io.com/~o_m
his country. He won it by making the other | Sergeant-At-Arms
poor dumb ******* die for his country." | Human O-Ring Society

- General George S. Patton, Jr

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 17:58:25 -0700, Rusty Barton
wrote:

I think Gagarin is the backup cosmonaut. That looks like Vladimir
Ilyushin riding in the rear seat on the way to his launch.

....You die. You go to Hell and you die, Rusty. :-P

OM

--

"No ******* ever won a war by dying for | http://www.io.com/~o_m
his country. He won it by making the other | Sergeant-At-Arms
poor dumb ******* die for his country." | Human O-Ring Society

- General George S. Patton, Jr

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 21:10:45 -0700, Rusty Barton
wrote:

It was a joke. There is an urban legend about lost Soviet Cosmonauts
who were launched prior to Gagarin and lost in orbit.

I missed the joke, I knew of the rumor but not the name.

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 21:23:53 -0700, Rusty Barton
wrote:


In the end, Vladimir Ilyushin must have had a bashful bladder and
couldn't pee on the bus tire. So they launched Yuri instead. ;-}

You know, this really shows how far ahead of us in spacesuit design
the Soviets were at the time. Al Sheppard would have killed for a
working zipper.

Gravity is "only a theory"

adress is partially sdrawkcab.

I've often wondered what kind of spacesuit the Russians were
using that allowed one to casually stop on his way to the launch
pad to have a whiz! Considering their american counterparts needed,
it seemed, a roomful of attendants to donn their suits, and that
most suits had elaborate urine collection schemes that would
preclude nonchalantly whipping it out to bless the whole works
prior to the big assault on the heavens..How do the Russians do it?
I never believed it was anything more than a story-another myth
born of the Russian penchant for embellishing the courage/fearlesness
of their cold war cosmonauts. But here's Thagart seemingly
corroberating it..
Is it a testament to better spacesuit design? Or, more evidence of
their casual approach to manned spaceflight?