Space

What Really Killed Yury Gagarin

Russian newspaper blames unsealed cabin

By Gabriel Gache, Science News Editor

28th of March 2008, 15:22 GMT

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Whether it was the aliens or Russian fellow cosmonaut Leonid Brezhnev, it is unknown, however what is certain is that seven years after becoming the first man into space, Yury Gagarin died during a training flight with a Mig-15 spacecraft, aged 34. There have been a lot of theories over the years related to what killed Gagarin, mostly because the inquiry of the Russian authorities in the outcome of the accident remain secret even to this day.

Nonetheless, the Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda proposes yet

another theory based on the statement of a member of the original inquiry, that took place in 1968. According to Komsomolskaya Pravda, the true origin of the problems suffered by the Mig-15 spacecraft were related to a technical fault corroborated with an extremely fast descent during the emergency landing.

While in an area of space over the region of Vladimir, 190 kilometers away from Moscow, the Mig-15 spacecraft suddenly crashed. The incident happened exactly four decades ago. Igor Kuznetsov, aviation engineer and participant in the inquiry after the accident, reveals that the cabin of the spacecraft was not hermetically sealed, and Gagarin and his co-pilot Vladimir Seryogin had no choice but to attempt a forced landing.

The descent occurred normally from altitudes of 4,000 to 2,000 meters, but the fast descend would have rendered them unconscious, which would explain why the spacecraft crashed in the first place. "Somewhere between the altitudes of 4,100 and 2,000 meters they either lost consciousness or found themselves in a pre-fainting state. That's what would happen in a non-hermetic cabin," said Kuznetsov.

Whether this is the true story or not, it will probably still remain a mystery for a very long time, since the Russian authorities have no interest in releasing the official findings of the inquiry. Three years ago, the press demanded that the official report be released, but the Kremlin refused to comply. Another attempt to break the mystery was carried out by Interfax reporters who payed a visit to the man that is now in possession of the spacecraft remnants; however, upon being asked about the possibility of a new investigation, the man said there was no need for such a thing.

TAGS:

Gagarin | cosmonaut | crash | space | Mig-15

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