VOSTOK 2KA-2 manned flight before Gagarin?

On Wednesday, October 10, 2012 3:18:18 PM UTC-7, Bjørn Sørheim wrote:
At a website selling space memorabilities I just found this: A very valuable model of a Vostok I spaceship is for sale. Historically it was presented to General Grishin, the number 3 man in the Soviet bureaucracy at the time. from auction ad -item description: VOSTOK I (3KA-3) is the first manned Spacecraft/Satellite. It was launched into orbit around Earth and returned to Earth on April 12, 1961. VOSTOK I carried Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space and returned him alive to the Earth's surface. then note: The previous VOSTOK 2KA-2, nearly identical to VOSTOL I-KA-3 had been launched a month earlier. VOSTOK 2KA-2's passenger, Vladimir Komorov, Gagarin's colleague and friend had been incinerated alive during reentry. There is a recording of Komarov's last utterances. .... On the reentry of Vostok I with Gagarin inside, the satellite's parachute was deployed. Gagarin parachuted at an altitude of 27,000 feet. Gagarin survived the 7 kilometer descent. This model is 10�"x5�" (27cm x 13.3cm). The VOSTOK I model is made of polished stainless steel and glass......... (unquote) WHAT is this story about Vladimir Komarov (also written Komorov) above? He was according to this story incinerated one month before Gagarin's flight 'during reentry'. This means Komarov would have been the first man in space! I have heard in another connection the story about these two italian brothers (what was their names?) listening to soviet spacecraft transmissions during the early soviet space era. And they heard a woman? (seemingly) burning up in the atmosphere during reenty. Are these stories connected? But according to the seemingly reliable information V. Komarov first went to space in October 1964. And on his second flight (first cosmonaut to fly a second time) he died during landing because of a parachute failure with Soyuz 1 in april, 1967. So is the story above a total misunderstanding, or is there any truth to it, if so what? Bj�rn S�rheim



For 'some reason', your source has confused with the rumors of a pre-Gagarin flight in April 1961 and Bonderenko's death in a ground training accident (March 1961) with Komarov's actual death on Soyuz 1 in April 1967. This is the first time that I've heard of this PARTICULAR story- the fatal flight is usually associated with Vladimir Ilyushin or Pyotr Dolgov. The Vostok 2K series never flew, test items were 1K, manned vehicles were 3K.

It just goes to show- don't rely upon your information from a source that has NO interest in being accurate, but rather depends on sensationalism to increase sales/bids.