Remembering the Space Age. - Black Vault Radio Network (BVRN)

218 reMeMBerING the SpaCe aGe
The Chief Designer Sergei Korolev reenacting his actions during Yuri Gagarin’s fight
on April 12, 1961. (Photo from the author’s collection)
Chief of the air Force’s General Staf in charge of cosmonaut selection and
training, complained about the ofcial ban on reports about equipment failures
and cosmonaut errors: “Because of these restrictions, we are actually robbing
ourselves by creating an impression of ‘extraordinary ease’ and almost complete
safety of prolonged space fights. In fact, such fights are very difcult and
dangerous for the cosmonauts, not only physically, but also psychologically.” 48
“the most interesting things in our cosmonautics are classifed,” he lamented. 49
these sentiments, however, did not translate into an active opposition to the
master narrative. When asked to serve as a consultant for andrei tarkovsky’s
feature movie based on Stanislaw Lem’s novel Solaris, in which space travel
turned into an exploration of the human soul, Kamanin blatantly refused.
48. Nikolai Kamanin, Skrytyi kosmos, vol. 4, 1969-1978 (Moscow: Novosti kosmonavtiki, 2001), p.
182 (diary entry of June 6, 1970).
49. Nikolai Kamanin, Skrytyi kosmos, vol. 1, 1960-1963 (Moscow: Infortekst, 1995), p. 176 (diary
entry of October 31, 1962).