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A cosmonaut's once-secret story

Boris Volynov shares his experiences on the near-fatal Soyuz 5 mission at St. Petersburg College during his first U.S. trip.

By By MELANIE AVE
Published June 8, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - ''Object is rotating.''

Boris Volynov spoke into the radio as his spacecraft hurtled backward toward Earth in January 1969 after a historic docking mission.

He heard nothing from Mission Control.

Volynov was only 34, a Russian cosmonaut, the first Jew in space, a pioneer in the great space race with the United States. And, he thought that day, about to die a fiery death.

"This is Baikal,'' he said again, giving his call sign. "Object is rotating.''

As the lone pilot on the returning Soyuz 5 mission, Volynov sat buckled in his seat as one of the most harrowing space accidents in history unfolded.

It was the Russian equivalent of the well-known American Apollo 13, where astronauts abandoned a moon landing and improvised a way back to Earth after an onboard explosion.

When Volynov finally landed and was rescued miles from where he should have landed, in 40-below temperatures, he asked through a mouth full of broken teeth: "Is my hair gray?''

It wasn't then.

But 37 years later, on Wednesday, a gray-haired Volynov, 71, told his dramatic and little-known story for the first time on American soil through a Russian interpreter. He spoke to an audience of about 100 students, space enthusiasts and educators at the Gibbs campus of St. Petersburg College.

The speech was part of a visit by Volynov and his wife of 49 years, Tamara, arranged by SPC president Carl Kuttler, an honorary consul general to the Russian Federation. Volynov will give a second public presentation today at the Clearwater campus and visit the Kennedy Space Center Friday.

Kuttler, a regular visitor to Russia and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin's, met Volynov a year ago when Kuttler led a delegation on a tour of Star City, where the cosmonauts' training center is located.

Kuttler wanted students to hear about Volynov's near-death experience - which remained a state secret until the 1990s. He hoped the young minds would be inspired.

It was Volynov's first visit to the United States, but he appeared to take it in stride. He said he's seen the country from space when he circled the planet more than 800 times on two missions, the Soyuz 5 and the Soyuz 21 in 1976.

But during the Cold War, as both countries battled to be the first to put a man on the moon, did he ever imagine a U.S. voyage?

"What Cold War?'' he asked, tongue in cheek. "I've seen so many countries. Why not the United States?''

Volynov of Siberia is one of the few living original cosmonauts. He and Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, were among the first 20 to join the program in 1960.

The two lived next door to one another and even trained in the same spacesuit.

"Our lives were so close,'' said the retired Soviet air force colonel. "We trusted each other completely.''

Volynov, a slight grandfatherly figure with a sharp nose and quick wit, spoke mostly about his Soyuz 5 mission on Wednesday.

"We cosmonauts don't believe in science,'' he said. "I think when Soyuz 5 was built and a number assigned to it, it's actually number 13. You know this number is famous.''

The audience laughed.

After his harrowing descent, he met Soviet party leader Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow's Red Square and received two of the country's highest awards - the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.

On Wednesday, St. Petersburg banker Kurt Petersen, 40, said he felt honored to be in the same room with one of the first men in space.

"It's awe-inspiring,'' he said.

"It's incredible just to hear,'' said SPC student Andrea Apple, 20.

Volynov will speak again at 12:30 p.m. today in the Teaching Auditorium of the SPC Clearwater campus at Drew Street and Old Coachman Road. The event is free and open to the public.

SOYUZ 5 Mission: January 1969 by the Soviet Union's space program

Purpose: Complete the first manned docking between two spacecraft. Two crew members of the Soyuz 5 successfully transferred to the Soyuz 4 in orbit.

Problem: The craft's equipment module failed to separate on its return flight to Earth, leaving the largely uninsulated landing module where pilot Boris Volynov sat at risk of burning up in the re-entry into the atmosphere.

Landing: As Volynov's cabin filled with smoke and he lost communication with Mission Control, the two modules finally separated minutes before a scheduled landing. Volynov was rescued in the snowy Ural Mountains. The impact broke several of his teeth. He was told he would never fly again because of the physical and psychological effects of the craft's calamitous return. He flew again seven years later aboard the Soyuz 21. The fiery landing was kept a state secret until the 1990s.

Times researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Melanie Ave can be reached at 727 893-8813 or mave@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 8, 2006, 05:34:25]