Lost cosmonauts
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Lost cosmonauts, or phantom cosmonauts, is a conspiracy theory/urban legend alleging that Soviet cosmonauts entered outer space, but without their existence having been acknowledged by either the Soviet or Russian space authorities.
Proponents of the Lost Cosmonauts theory concede that Yuri Gagarin was the first man to survive Human spaceflight, but claim that the Soviet Union attempted to launch two or more manned space flights prior to Gagarin's, and that at least two cosmonauts died in the attempts. While it is true that three Soviet cosmonauts died during re-entry, their bodies were recovered from the craft. Another cosmonaut, Vladimir Ilyushin, is said to have landed off-course and been held by the Chinese government. The Soviets supposedly suppressed this information, to prevent bad publicity during the height of the Cold War. In the documentary The Cosmonaut Cover-up, Sergei Khrushchev, son of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, said the story is true. However, the preponderance of evidence shows he was never a cosmonaut, though he was a test pilot.[1]
Starman tells the true story of a friendship between two cosmonauts, Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin. There was a plan was to dock two Soviet spaceships in orbit, on the 50th anniversary of the October revolution, and despite Gagarin's objections the mission was not postponed. Komarov accepted the mission telling the ground control officials he knew he was going to die and that if he refused to fly, then the backup pilot Yuri Gagarin would die in his place. Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin called on a video phone to tell him he was a hero. Once the Soyuz began to orbit the Earth the mechanical failures began: the antennas didn't open properly, power was compromised, and navigation proved difficult. His last words were recorded as him cursing mission control for sending him off to his death on a premature spaceship. [2]
Some sources claim that just before the historic Apollo 11 flight to the moon, the Soviets undertook an adventurous attempt to beat the Americans. Despite the unsuccessful first test launch of the new Soviet N1 rocket on January 20, 1969, it is alleged that a decision was made to send a manned Soyuz 7K-L3 craft to the moon using an N1. This attempt is alleged to have occurred on July 3, 1969, when it ended in an explosion destroying the launch pad and killing the cosmonauts on board. This launch, however (designated N1-5L), was an unmanned test of lunar hardware.
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