- Viktor Patsayev
Infobox Astronaut
name =Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev
type =Cosmonaut
status =Died during mission
nationality =Soviet
date_birth =June 19 ,1933
date_death =June 30 ,1971
place_birth =Aktyubinsk ,Kazakh SSR
place_death =Karaganda ,Kazakh SSR
occupation =Engineer
selection =1968 USSR Civilian Specialist Group 3
time =23d 18h 21m
mission =Soyuz 11
insignia =|Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev ( _ru. Виктор Иванович Пацаев;
June 19 ,1933 , Aktyubinsk –June 30 1971 ) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on theSoyuz 11 mission and had the unfortunate distinction of being part of the second crew to die during a space flight. Onboard space stationSalyut 1 he operated the Orion 1 Space Observatory (seeOrion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories ), he became the first man to operate a telescope outside the Earth’s atmosphere.After a normal
re-entry , the capsule was opened and the crew was found dead. It was discovered that a valve had opened just prior to leaving orbit that had allowed the capsule's atmosphere to vent away into space, suffocating the crew.One of Patsayev's hands was found to be bruised, and he may have been trying to shut the valve manually at the time he lost consciousness.
Patsayev's ashes were inurned in the Kremlin Wall on the
Red Square in Moscow.Persondata
NAME=Patsayev, Viktor Ivanovich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Виктор Иванович Пацаев (Russian)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Soviet cosmonaut
DATE OF BIRTH=June 19, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH=Aqtöbe, SOviet Union
DATE OF DEATH=June 30, 1971
PLACE OF DEATH=Space
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