1950s-70s Space Race to The Moon: 1961-08-06 USSR Vostok 2

A Vostok 2 launch cover featuring a red Moscow postmark, signed by Gherman Titov.

Vostok 2 was a Soviet space mission that launched cosmonaut Gherman Titov into orbit for a full day on August 6, 1961, to investigate the effects of extended weightlessness on the human body. During his mission, Titov completed over 17 orbits around the Earth, surpassing Yuri Gagarin's single orbit during Vostok 1, as well as the suborbital flights of American astronauts Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom on their Mercury-Redstone 3 and 4 missions. Titov's record for orbits and flight duration would remain unmatched by an American astronaut until Gordon Cooper's Mercury-Atlas 9 flight in May 1963.

Photo signed by Gherman Titov, the second Russian cosmonaut to orbit the Earth.

A Vostok 2 launch cover featuring a Vilnius postmark dated August 6, 1961.

After the flight of Vostok 1, Sergei Korolev took a brief vacation in Crimea, where he began planning the next mission. There were significant debates about the mission's duration, with flight doctors advocating for a maximum of three orbits. The earlier flight of Korabl-Sputnik 2, which carried two dogs on a six-orbit mission, had resulted in the animals experiencing convulsions, leading to a limit of three orbits for all subsequent Vostok missions. Despite the physiological differences between dogs and humans, doctors remained concerned about the risks of longer flights.

Additionally, there were practical considerations for spacecraft recovery. If Vostok 2 completed three orbits, reentry and landing would occur in the open steppes of southern Russia, with the landing site progressively shifting west with each orbit. If it were to orbit 8-13 times, the capsule would land in the Pacific Ocean, followed by a recovery in the remote, frozen expanses of Siberia. Therefore, a full 24 hours in space would be necessary to ensure a landing back in the prime recovery area of southern Russia. This three-orbit limit not only simplified landing but also reduced the risks of prolonged weightlessness for the cosmonaut.

A Vostok 2 recovery cover featuring a Vinnitza postmark dated August 7, 1961.

Korolev argued that since it would still take a full day for landing in southern Russia to be feasible again, there was no reason not to extend the mission. He pointed out that future missions would likely require longer stays in space. The flight was scheduled for sometime between July 25 and August 5. To ensure safe radiation levels, balloons equipped with Geiger counters were launched, and similar equipment would be included on Vostok 2. Several enhancements were made to Vostok 2, such as an improved TV transmission system and upgraded climate control systems. The actual liftoff occurred on August 6 at 8:57 AM Moscow time, with booster performance being nearly flawless, placing the spacecraft into a 184x244 km orbit.

Photo: Titov's Vostok 2 flight last for 25 hours 18 mins and made 17.5 orbits around the earth.

A Vostok 2 cover featuring a red Kiev postmark dated August 7, 1961.

Photo: Gherman Titov orbital path.

Photo: Titov at news conference with Soviet newsman after his successful orbital flight.

A Vostok 2 KNIGA cover featuring a black Moscow postmark, signed by Gherman Titov.

A Vostok 2 cover featuring a red Moscow postmark.

Photo: Soviet cosmonaut Maj. Gherman Titov received a hero's welcome in Moscow. He was greeted at the airport by prominent Soviet leaders, including Premier Khrushchev, who was holding a bouquet. Maj. Yuri Gagarin, the first Soviet spaceman, is seen on the far left. Titov had been flown to the capital from Saratov, located 450 miles away.