Vostok 3 - Mission Highlights

Mission Highlights

Vostok 3 lifted off from Gagarin's Start at Baikonur Cosmodrome at on August 11, 1962 at 08:24 UTC atop a Vostok 8K72K rocket. During his first day in orbit, Nikolayev unstrapped himself from his seat and became the first spacefarer to float freely in conditions of microgravity in space.

Nikolayev's orbital companion Popovich launched the next day aboard Vostok 4. Data on the two spacecraft's orbital parameters that were released periodically by Soviet news agency TASS seemed to indicate a change in Vostok 3's orbital trajectory within ten hours of Vostok 4's launch, leading to speculation that the former spacecraft modified its orbit to bring it closer to that of the latter. The Vostok spacecraft is not believed to have had the ability to modify its orbit. Plans were for the spacecraft to approach to 5 km (3.1 mi), but the closest distance achieved was 6.5 km (4.0 mi). At the start of Vostok 3's thirty-third orbit this distance had diverged to 850 km (530 mi), and to 2,850 km (1,770 mi) at the start of the sixty-fourth.

Nikolayev and Popovich made contact with one another via shortwave radio soon after their spacecraft approached one another; they would maintain regular ship-to-ship communications over the course of their mission in addition to their contact with the ground. Nikolayev reported sighting the Vostok 4 capsule after it entered orbit near him.

Both Nikolayev and Popovich spent time out of their seats each day, conducting a series of tests to determine their ability to maneuver and work in conditions of weightlessness. Each test was said to last "about one hour." The physical and mental state of the cosmonauts were monitored: biometric sensors relayed the cosmonauts vital statistics to the ground; the cosmonauts' behavior and coordination was observed via a cabin-mounted video camera; and the cosmonauts' ability to perform various operations in coordination with ground controllers was considered. The cosmonauts' speech was monitored both by controllers on the ground and one another. The results of the tests were deemed positive, evidence of the ability of humans to function and work over longer periods in microgravity.

Attention was paid to the cosmonauts' ability to sleep, and their vital signs were monitored during their sleep periods. Nikolayev reported that he slept well, but always woke after only six hours of his scheduled eight-hour sleep period, feeling "refreshed".

Nikolayev fired his retrorocket pack and returned to Earth on August 15, 1962, landing at 06:52 UTC at 42°2′N 75°45′E / 42.033°N 75.75°E / 42.033; 75.75, near Karaganda. As with Titov on Vostok 2—but unlike Gagarin on Vostok 1—Nikolayev would admit to reporters that he ejected and parachuted to earth separately from his spacecraft.