Victor Savinykh, Soviet cosmonaut: biography, family, awards

Victor Savinykh is a Soviet cosmonaut, the 50th in the list of those who could fly into space in the USSR. For all his life he had three sorties, during one of which he was able to visit the open space. The cumulative time of all flights is more than 252 days.

Biography

Viktor Savinykh is an astronaut, whose biography was known to many Soviet citizens, because the whole country watched people like him, was proud of them, equaled them.

The future cosmonaut was born in a small village of Berezkin, located in the Oryk district of the Kirov region. His birthday is March 7, 1940. Early childhood was in the war years, soon after the Victory Victor Savinykh went to school. He graduated from it, like many other Soviet schoolchildren, at the age of 17. After receiving a secondary education, Victor entered the Perm College of Railway Transport, in the diploma of which he qualified as a "road technician".

On the reached young VP. Savinykh did not stop and in 1969 graduated from the institute, having received the qualification "mechanical engineer of optics". However, and this seemed to him little, so he remained in graduate school of the same educational institution - the Moscow Institute of Geodesy engineers, aerial photography and cartography. After graduation, he was protected by a candidate for "The orientation of spacecraft in near-Earth orbit".

After another 5 years, the doctor's thesis was defended, which revealed the theme related to the environmental problems of the atmosphere. After that, he decided to start a career as a diplomat, for which he had to obtain a diploma from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Space

Victor Savinykh began his career in 1960, working as a foreman at the Sverdlovsk Railway. In 60-63 he served in the ranks of the SA, in the railway troops.

In the Design Bureau, the Queen came in 1969. He began his career in this place with an engineer, 20 years later resigned from the position of the head of the complex.

In 1975, Victor Savinykh received admission to the Main Medical Commission, on the basis of which three years later - in December 1978 - recommendations were received to enroll the beginner in the detachment. For events of this level, all this happened incredibly fast. Sam Savinykh explains this by the fact that he knew the aircraft thoroughly, set it up from the moment of creation. He came to the design bureau even when this project was only on paper, so Victor Petrovich accompanied him almost from the moment of "conception". Appointment for the test cosmonaut was signed on December 8, 1978.

Together with the group, which was waiting for the station "Salyut-6", participated in the pre-flight training until May 1980.

October 1978 - spring of 1980 - busy in preparation for the test flight to Soyuz T-2. They successfully passed the exams, but almost before the launch a message appeared that the ship was a double for the flight, so it was withdrawn from the program.

Quite unexpectedly he was transferred to another project, so in October-November 1980 he was preparing for another project. After its successful completion, the cosmonaut received the post of flight engineer of the second crew, intended for the Soyuz T-3 test flight.

In December 1980, the final preparations for the start of the Salyut-6, which ended in February 81, began. In the fifth main expedition Victor Savinykh became an on-board engineer of the reserve crew. However, after the exam the commission decided to transfer it together with V. Kovalenko into the main crew, while Andreev and Zudov switched to a duplicate squad.

First flight

His very first flight, Victor Savinykh, the cosmonaut, waited with special impatience. The start was made on March 12, 1981. His post for 74 days 17 hours and 37 minutes and 23 seconds, which lasted this flight, is a flight engineer. His callsign in this period - Foton-2. The difference between this flight and most others is that the launch took place in the evening. After takeoff, the cosmonauts had to work hard, so they had to rebuild their schedule in advance. They went to bed in the morning, waking up when the other Muscovites were already preparing for bed. After the decision on the flight was finally accepted, it was reported that Victor became the 50th Soviet cosmonaut and number 100 on international qualifications.

Before the flight the physicians were treated with alcohol as a disinfection. Savinykh remembered how the doctor joked that now they are completely invulnerable to microbes. On this day Victor wrote letters to his wife and parents. In the envelope, he put a photo on which he is depicted in a spacesuit. The family did not see him in this form and could not even think that at that moment he was going to the rocket, that very soon he would be informed of his flight.

After returning to Earth, Savinykh recalled that his colleagues tried very hard to make him laugh, to distract him from excitement. One of them quite seriously assured that he put skis in the cargo compartment, on which you can run on the space ski track. These assurances were so serious and detailed that Savinykh could not help smiling.

When the correspondents asked before the launch what they would miss in space, Savinykh answered that he did not know this, but at the moment he lacks the space.

The purpose of the mission was the re-opening of the "Salyut-6" station, with which some time ago communications disappeared. It was inside the "dead" station that Savin tried for the first time to fly in weightlessness. It was not immediately, but he quickly learned that it was necessary to make a decision about the direction of motion at the plane - at the moment of the flight, there was no point in twitching. Until you reach any surface, nothing can be changed.

Returning from the first flight, the cosmonaut enthusiastically spoke about how beautiful our planet is, that from the surface it is impossible to appreciate it so much. Observing endless sunrises (for a day in space they can be seen 16 times), Viktor Petrovich recalled life in the Urals, early mornings with their clean, fresh smell. Could he then assume that he would look at his planet from space? Of course, even in the wildest dreams this never occurred to me.

With amazement he told the Savins about the magnificence of flowers from the cosmos. The Polar Lights made an indelible impression on him, especially since the cosmonauts managed to visit the very center of this phenomenon. No film, according to observers, is able to reproduce the richness of colors that it was able to observe from space.

The second flight

This was the longest flight of those that fell to the lot of the Savins. About 4 months the expedition to "Salyut-7" lasted. The first stage consisted of restoring all the functions of the station. Joint work with Dzhanibekov gave an excellent result: the work capacity of the station was restored. In the framework of this task, Savinykh went into open space. Work outside the ship took 5 hours.

The plan of the second stage included Vasyutin and Volkova, but due to Vasyutin's illness the flight had to be completed ahead of schedule. Savinykh was appointed to the post of commander of the crew.

This flight lasted a total of 168 days 3 hours 51 minutes 8 seconds.

After returning to Earth, our hero, as an on-board engineer, was trained at the OK "Mir", then - to the flight to the OS "Mir". In the first case, his crew was a duplicate, in the second - the main one.

The Third Flight

Victor Savinykh, cosmonaut No. 50 in the country, made his last career flight in 88. As a flight engineer from June 7 to 17 participated in the mission to the Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft.

Two days after the launch, the spacecraft docked with the orbital station, on which the main fourth expedition worked. Station "Mir" made a favorable impression on the arrivals. Having completed the tasks of the joint flight, the crew returned to Earth. This expedition was unusual in that, together with the Soviet cosmonauts, Mir station accepted specialists from Bulgaria.

This flight lasted 9 days 20 hours 9 minutes 19 seconds.

Personal life

With a girl who later became a wife, Victor met while studying at a technical school in Perm. The first thing he noticed was how Lily easily and freely danced. She decided that he would go to her home, than very amused the future cosmonaut. The girl loved sports, was involved in athletics and was an excellent skier, which made her accustomed to attention and craving for him. Victor Savinyh's wife was born on February 23, 41, her maiden name is Menshikov. Lilia Alekseevna worked as a teacher of the Department of Physical Education of the Moscow Forestry Institute.

Victor Savinykh, whose family as a child consisted of parents, himself and his younger brother, brought up one daughter, born on August 12, 1968. Valentina, who was proud of her father all her life, did not follow in his footsteps. She became a biologist.

Life after

In 1988, Viktor Petrovich accepted the offer to become a rector. He began to lead the university, where he trained himself years ago - MIIGAiK. A year later, the cosmonaut's career was officially completed, and until 1992 Savinykh was a People's Deputy of the Soviet Union. Doctor of Technical Sciences Viktor Petrovich is since 1990.

To date, the former cosmonaut holds the post of editor-in-chief of the journal Russian Space. He is an honorary citizen of the city of Kirov, where a monument is erected in his honor. In addition, the name of this astronaut is assigned to one of the minor planets.

Awards

During his long working life and thanks to the research Saviny received many awards and titles. He several times became a laureate of various state prizes, Knight of the Order of Lenin, "For Services to the Fatherland", medals "Gold Star", was awarded the medal "For Services in Space Exploration" and many others. In addition, repeatedly received the title of hero.

He became a hero of the Soviet Union twice. His titles were awarded in 1981 and 1985.

In 1981 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic, in seven years - similar in the Bulgarian Republic.

Since 1981 - the USSR pilot-cosmonaut.

Not only in our country have the activities of the Savins evaluated, in Paris it is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics. In addition, he is a member of the International Engineering Academy and the Academy of Informatics. Since 2006 he is a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Social activity

Victor Savinykh always led a very active social life. He was a deputy of the USSR, a member of the Committee on Ecology, ran for the Duma twice, but both times he did not become the elected one. He is the president of the Swimming Federation, a member of the presidium of the philatelic society, is a full member of a large number of diverse societies. In 2010, he was among the top three in the list of the Kirov branch of United Russia in elections to the state assembly. In 2011 he was elected a deputy.

Hobbies

Even in his studies, Saviny became addicted to skiing, then took a great interest in fishing, hunting, tennis and became addicted to mountain skiing. Now, despite a busy schedule, Viktor Petrovich is trying to give sports and hobbies as much time as possible, so as not to lose his physical form.

Although today lives a former cosmonaut in Moscow, he tries to come to his native Vyatka every year to go to the forest, to fish on the river banks he has known since childhood.

Publications

Viktor Petrovich is the author of the books "The Earth is Waiting and Hoping", written in 1983, "Notes from a Dead Station", completed in 1999, "Geography from Space", created in 2000, and "Vyatka. Baikonur. Cosmos ", which the cosmonaut was engaged in in 2002 and 2010.

In addition, he is a co-author of many publications dedicated to space and the environment.