Igor Petrovich Volk
Igor Petrovich Volk was a Soviet test pilot and cosmonaut best known for his connection to the Buran reusable spacecraft program. His spaceflight record is short compared with many station veterans, but his importance is tied to flight-test culture, aircraft handling, and the question of how pilots would adapt after orbital flight.
- Born
- April 12, 1937
- Died
- January 3, 2017
- Birthplace
- Zmiiv,Soviet Union
Flights
1
Spacewalks
N/A
EVA time
N/A
In space
11 days, 19 hours, 14 minutes
Bio
Volk came from the Soviet military and test-pilot world before joining the cosmonaut corps. He became one of the pilots associated with Buran development, where crews needed experience in high-performance aircraft and spacecraft landing profiles even before the vehicle itself flew uncrewed in 1988.
His only spaceflight was Soyuz T-12 in July 1984. The mission visited Salyut 7 and included Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Svetlana Savitskaya, and Volk. Savitskaya performed the first by a woman during the mission, while Volk's participation gave program managers an opportunity to study pilot performance after spaceflight.
After landing, Volk continued aviation and Buran-related work rather than building a long station-flight resume. it represents a different kind of space career: not duration records or command of , but the flight-test pathway that supported Soviet plans for a winged orbital spacecraft.