The exploration of outer space requires the inhabitants of the Earth, who want to fly to the stars, the appropriate knowledge and skills. Special training and good health. Pavel Romanovich Popovich became a Soviet cosmonaut number 4.
Starting conditions
Astronautics historians know that preparations for flight beyond the Earth's atmosphere began many decades ago. About two hundred years before our time, science fiction novels about flights to distant planets appeared. As a boy, Pavel was fond of reading books about travels on the seas and oceans. And when he read a book entitled "From a Cannon to the Moon", he remembered this story for the rest of his life. From that moment on, he loved to peer into the starry sky and listen to the roar of aircraft over the airfield, which was nearby.
The future pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR was born on October 5, 1930 in an ordinary Soviet family. Parents at that time lived in the small town of Uzin, which is located in the Kiev region. His father worked as a stoker in a boiler room, and his mother was engaged in housekeeping and raising three sons. The guys grew up strong, and tried to help their parents in everything. During the war, many did not manage to evacuate and lived for three years in the occupied territory. Including the Popovich family. The time has come and the Soviet troops liberated the city. Life has entered its usual rut.
In the service of the Motherland
After leaving school, Pavel entered the Magnitogorsk Industrial College and at the same time began to study at the local flying club. Then he entered the military school of pilots. According to the order, he got to serve in the fighter regiment, which was stationed in Karelia. The attestation sheet indicated that Popovich was an excellent student in combat and political training. The time has come and in 1959 he was enrolled in the first cosmonaut corps. By that time, the dogs Belka and Strelka had already been in space. Intensive preparation was carried out for the flight into orbit of the manned spacecraft.
Pavel Popovich became the commander of the Vostok-4 spacecraft. From 12 to 15 August, the cosmonaut was in low-earth orbit and carried out a program of research and experiments. This was the first group flight - the Vostok-3 spacecraft, which was piloted by Andriyan Nikolaev, was nearby. During the flight, Popovich manually controlled the direction of movement of the ship. The experiment ended successfully. For his professionalism and courage, Pavel Romanovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Career and personal life
The second time Popovich visited orbit was in 1974, when he commanded the two-seat Soyuz-14 spacecraft. On Earth, he was engaged in science and teaching. He shared his experience with cadets from the cosmonaut corps.
In the personal life of Pavel Popovich, there were two marriages. The first wife of the cosmonaut was Marina Vasilyeva, who is known as a test pilot. The family had two daughters, but the marriage, unfortunately, fell apart. The cosmonaut lived with his second wife for almost fifteen years. Pavel Popovich died in September 2009.
