Vitaly Ivanovich Sevastyanov
Vitaly Ivanovich Sevastyanov was a Soviet engineer, cosmonaut, television presenter, and public figure whose two Soyuz flights helped define long-duration human spaceflight before permanent stations became routine. He logged more than eighty days in space across Soyuz 9 and Soyuz 18.
- Born
- July 8, 1935
- Died
- April 5, 2010
- Birthplace
- Krasnouralsk,Soviet Union
Flights
2
Spacewalks
N/A
EVA time
N/A
In space
80 days, 16 hours, 18 minutes
Bio
Sevastyanov studied at the Moscow Aviation Institute and joined Sergey Korolev's design bureau after graduating in 1959. He worked on spacecraft design, lectured on spaceflight physics, and entered cosmonaut training from the civilian engineering side of the Soviet program.
On Soyuz 9 in 1970, Sevastyanov and Andriyan Nikolayev set a new endurance record by spending nearly eighteen days in orbit. The flight proved that crews could remain in space longer than earlier missions, but it also exposed serious problems with postflight physical deconditioning.
His second mission, Soyuz 18 in 1975, docked with Salyut 4 for a two-month station stay with Pyotr Klimuk. After his flying career, Sevastyanov became a familiar space commentator, served in public roles, and chaired chess organizations in Russia.