Vladimir Vladimirovich Vasyutin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Vasyutin was a Soviet Air Force pilot-cosmonaut whose only mission, Soyuz T-14, became one of the clearest examples of medical risk during long-duration station operations. He commanded a planned Salyut 7 that ended early because of illness.
- Born
- March 8, 1952
- Died
- July 19, 2002
- Birthplace
- Kharkiv,Soviet Union
Flights
1
Spacewalks
N/A
EVA time
N/A
In space
64 days, 21 hours, 52 minutes
Bio
Vasyutin trained as a military pilot and entered cosmonaut training in 1978. He was connected to Soviet military station planning and later assigned to Salyut 7 during the period after the station had been recovered by the Soyuz T-13 crew.
Soyuz T-14 launched in September 1985 with Vasyutin, Aleksandr Volkov, and Georgi Grechko. The crew arrived at Salyut 7 to relieve and extend operations after the station's repair, while Cosmos 1686 brought major cargo and hardware to the complex.
The mission was planned for much longer, but Vasyutin became seriously ill and the crew returned after about sixty-five days. The early landing showed why maintaining a docked Soyuz as a return vehicle was essential for station crews.