Soviet Space Claims Questioned

Despite official acceptance of Soviet claims to mastery in space, unofficial doubts persist. In particular, several journalists and space authorities question the assertion that Moscow’s cosmonauts, Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov, actually performed their celebrated flights around the globe.

Discrepancies in Moscow’s account of both events are legion. Both Gagarin and Titov reported observations from their orbiting vehicles which are, by unanimous consent, impossible: both professed physiological reactions at variance with what is known about space flight; Gagarin’s trip followed a time schedule scouted by the highest authorities; and both men were photographed in “space” costumes oddly reminiscent of the gear worn by Charles Lindbergh. Moscow, moreover, couldn’t get its facts straight on whether Gagarin came down in his vehicle or parachuted out of it, or whether his Vostok I had portholes or did not.

MS

About the Author

M. Stanton Evans

Featured Tags

Despite official acceptance of Soviet claims to mastery in space, unofficial doubts persist. In particular, several journalists and space authorities question the assertion that Moscow’s cosmonauts, Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov, actually performed their celebrated flights around the globe.

Discrepancies in Moscow’s account of both events are legion. Both Gagarin and Titov reported observations from their orbiting vehicles which are, by unanimous consent, impossible: both professed physiological reactions at variance with what is known about space flight; Gagarin’s trip followed a time schedule scouted by the highest authorities; and both men were photographed in “space” costumes oddly reminiscent of the gear worn by Charles Lindbergh. Moscow, moreover, couldn’t get its facts straight on whether Gagarin came down in his vehicle or parachuted out of it, or whether his Vostok I had portholes or did not.