Vasiliy Lazarev Astronaut Date of Birth: 23.02.1928 Country: Russia

Vasily Lazarev: A Soviet Cosmonaut

Vasily Lazarev was born on February 23, 1928, in the village of Poroshino, Kytmanovsky District, Altai Krai, into a peasant family. He spent his school years in Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg) and from a young age, he had a dream of flying. In 1943, after completing eight years of school, Lazarev and his friend attempted to enroll in a school for initial pilot training. However, Lazarev's friend was not accepted, so Lazarev decided to stand by his friend and both of them returned to school.

In 1945, Lazarev graduated from school and entered the Sverdlovsk Medical Institute. During his last year of study, he received an offer to specialize in aviation medicine. Intrigued by the opportunity, Lazarev transferred to the Military Medical Faculty of the Saratov Medical Institute. In 1952, he graduated from the institute and became a doctor. He served as a military physician, but his childhood dream of flying took precedence. Lazarev enrolled in the Chuguev Military Aviation Pilot School and completed his training in 1954. He then served as a flight instructor in the Soviet Air Force.

From 1955 to 1959, Lazarev worked as a test pilot and senior test pilot-doctor. He participated in the testing of various aircraft and altitude-related equipment for pilots, such as spacesuits and oxygen systems. Lazarev was involved in the testing of the high-altitude balloon-laboratory "Volga," spending over 28 hours onboard. Concurrently, he began conducting scientific research on the psychophysical effects of flight conditions on the human body and its capabilities.

Lazarev first underwent a medical examination for admission to the cosmonaut squad in 1959, along with Yuri Gagarin, German Titov, and other "Gagarin group" cosmonauts. However, he did not pass the medical requirements. He underwent a second medical examination in 1963 for the selection of the second group of cosmonauts but again did not meet the medical criteria. It was only on his third attempt that Lazarev was accepted into the Soviet cosmonaut squad in 1963 (Group 2 of the Air Force, additional selection).

Lazarev completed the full course of general space training and preparation for flights on the Voskhod and Soyuz spacecraft. He trained as part of the Soviet lunar program. Lazarev served as the backup for Boris Egorov during the launch of the spacecraft Voskhod on October 12, 1964. In June 1970, he was part of the support crew for the Soyuz-9 spacecraft.

Lazarev made his first space flight from September 27 to 29, 1973, as the commander of the Soyuz-12 spacecraft, together with Oleg Makarov. The duration of the flight was 1 day, 23 hours, 15 minutes, and 23 seconds. He served as the backup for Alexey Gubarev during the launch of the Soyuz-17 spacecraft on January 11, 1975. On April 5, 1975, Lazarev began his second space flight as the commander of the Soyuz-18/1 spacecraft, again with Oleg Makarov. The flight was intended to work on the orbital station Salyut-4 but encountered a malfunction during the rocket's third stage, resulting in the mission being aborted. The descent module with the cosmonauts was separated from the rocket and made a suborbital flight in space. The duration of the flight was 21 minutes and 27 seconds. In total, Lazarev accumulated 1 day, 23 hours, 36 minutes, and 50 seconds of spaceflight time from his two missions.

After his space career, Lazarev worked as the commander of the cosmonaut group at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. He passed away on December 31, 1990, and was buried in Moscow. Lazarev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and received two Orders of Lenin, as well as various medals. He was an honorary citizen of the cities of Kaluga, Barnaul, Ekaterinburg, Pechora (Russia), and Jezkazgan, Karaganda (Kazakhstan).