Andriyan Nikolayev
Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev was a Soviet Air Force major general and one of the first Soviet cosmonauts. He became the third Soviet citizen in space when he flew Vostok 3 in 1962.
- Born
- September 5, 1929
- Died
- July 3, 2004
- Birthplace
- Shorshely,Soviet Union
Flights
2
Spacewalks
N/A
EVA time
N/A
In space
21 days, 15 hours, 20 minutes
Bio
Nikolayev grew up in the Chuvash region and entered military aviation before joining the first Soviet cosmonaut group. He became known as the Iron Man for his ability to endure isolation training.
Vostok 3 formed part of the first dual human spaceflight with Pavel Popovich's Vostok 4 and set an endurance record. Nikolayev later commanded Soyuz 9 with Vitaly Sevastyanov, again setting a long-duration record for human spaceflight at the time.
He left the cosmonaut corps in 1982, after a career that included two flights, early television from orbit, backup assignments, and a place among the foundational figures of Soviet human spaceflight.