Zudov Vyacheslav Dmitrievich (January 8, 1942, Bor, Gorky Region — June 12, 2024, Moscow) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, a native of the town of Bor in Nizhny Novgorod Region (known in Soviet times as Gorky Region). He went into space only once, in 1976, aboard Soyuz-23.[1]

Early Years and Training

By his own recollection, as a child he was so impressed by the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite that he joined a rocket modeling club and decided to become a cosmonaut.[2] He graduated from the Balashov Military Aviation School, where he made his first parachute jump and first went up in the air. He later flew fighters as well as the Il-2, Il-14, and An-12 transport aircraft. He was enrolled in the cosmonaut corps and began training at Star City.[2]

Even before his own flight, he took part in supporting the Soviet space program: during Komarov's flight on Soyuz-1 he served on duty at an observation station in Kamchatka, and in 1968, together with cosmonaut Dobrovolsky, he maintained contact with Beregovoy, who was making an orbital flight aboard Soyuz-3.[2]

The Soyuz-23 Flight

Zudov went into space on October 14, 1976, after eleven years of waiting and training. The crew, consisting of Zudov and cosmonaut Rozhdestvensky, launched from Baikonur. The goal of the flight was to dock with the Salyut-5 orbital station, but the automatic rendezvous system failed, and with the agreement of mission control the crew returned to Earth ahead of schedule. The flight lasted from October 14 to 16, 1976.[2]

The landing was off-nominal: the descent module splashed down on the ice-covered Lake Tengiz in freezing weather. The crew was evacuated by helicopter and a search party, who towed the capsule to shore on cables.[2]

Later Service

Zudov was dismissed from the cosmonaut corps in 1987 but remained living in Star City. In 1990 he served as deputy chief and political officer of the Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center with the rank of colonel.[2] He died on June 12, 2024, in Moscow.[1]

Connection to the Nizhny Novgorod Area

Vyacheslav Zudov was born in the town of Bor, a district center on the right bank of the Volga opposite Nizhny Novgorod, which was then part of Gorky Region.[1] Bor remained his only biographical tie to the region: the rest of the cosmonaut's life and career were connected with military aviation and Star City.

Sources

  1. aukro.cz — KOSMOS — Vjačeslav Dmitrijevič Zudov
  2. multimediaexpo.cz — Vjačeslav Zudov
  3. gctc.ru — Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Official Website
  4. planet4589.org
  5. фвмк.рф — COSMONAUTS
  6. шатковская-библиотека.рф — Memory of the Past and Present — for the Future — Municipal Budgetary Cultural Institution "Shatkovo Centralized Library System." Site created in 2018.