Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Vostok 3 & Vostok 4, Part II
13-15 August 1962: Nikolayev & Popvich spend several periods unstrapped from their ejection seats, floating in their capsules; the two
Vostoks passed within four miles of each other, due to their precise launches & orbits; Nikolayev set a new endurance record: nearly four days in orbit; both cosmonauts ejected from their respective capsules after re-entry & parachuted to earth seven minutes apart.
Commentary: The official Soviet news agency, T.A.S.S., reported that Vostok 3
had changed its orbit in response to the launch of Vostok 4
—though it had not—creating the impression that the Soviets were close to achieving orbital rendezvous. In reality, the Vostok
capsule was not capable of orbital manuevering. Rendezvous of two manned spacecraft would not be achieved until N.A.S.A.'s Gemini VII & Gemini VI-A flew rings around each other three years later (December 1965).
Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Vostok 3 & Vostok 4
Guster, "Fall in Two" from
Parachute (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)
Commentary: According to some reports, the capsule displayed in a Moscow museum to represent the first spacewalk during Voskhod 2
(March 1965) is actually either the Vostok 3
or the Vostok 4
capsule.
Semper exploro.
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