Gorbatko Viktor

Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel Viktor Gorbatko. Born in 1934 in the village of Crowns-Dawn of Krasnodar Krai. Member of the CPSU. He made three flights into space: the first - in 1969, the second - in 1977, the third - in 1980.

HANDFUL OF MOTHER EARTH
"Soyuz-7" floated over the planet. For scuttles thickened blackness of space and irritatingly bright burning unblinking fixed stars. Sharp eyes spied this endless dance of two lights that were moving in the left corner of the sky.

. - Captain, I see! "Victor Gorbatko closer still clung to the glass.

. Three ships, converge in a given region of space ...

. ... Anyone on board the Soyuz-7, served as an engineer and researcher, originally from the Kuban
. Kuban Cossacks call him at the Star. Childhood Victor Gorbatko passed in those places where there is the famous stud farm "Sunrise". Well remembered herds of horses grazing on the green, fractional clop, ringing neigh, mane waving in the wind, when the horses are driven by the endless steppe. Remember field arenas, obezdka young, festive contests, vaulting, jumping, ippiki ...

In family veterinary paramedic Vasily Pavlovich and Matryona Alexandrovna Gorbatko five children. Victor - the younger of two brothers. Roth, like all his contemporaries, whose fathers and mothers worked on the farm and at stud. Habitual run-time war broke. Learn had on ABC, which was little more than five pages - the rest ve missed Hitler's military censorship. Word of the Motherland, Lenin, the Party, the Komsomol spiteful expunged by the Nazis.

. Remember the lessons in the cold, unheated school, the first words that appear in the scraps of wrapping paper with frozen fingers, and full of optimism and faith in the victory stories teacher Nadezhda Ivanovna Karaulova
. She told the hungry and shivering boys and girls about Ilyich, hoarded read the book "The Boy from Urzhum", taught honesty and truthfulness.

After returning from the front, a disabled father, Victor once again began to work on stud. Mother had run the house, looking after the kids. Ever since childhood, Victor used to the hard work of the peasant: plow, drove the horses in the night, helping adults in the field. For work on the harvest at the farm Regional Committee of the Young Communist League awarded him the honorary diploma.

He became engaged in the theatrical circle. When set "Young Guard" Victor instructed the role of Sergei Tulenin. While playing, he sought to show how brave and courageous was Komsomolets Tulenin. Role Lyuba Shevtsova performed Valya Ordynskaya. Then she would become his wife.

Victor studied carefully. It was interesting to learn every day new, to penetrate the secrets of the laws of physics, the structure of the chemical elements, know the past and present Earth and other planets ... But what he will decide for a long time could not. Other guys were making plans, dreaming disperse in different parts of the country. "Seaman" lured Leningrad and Sevastopol, "the miners' tuned in Donetsk," historians "and" biological "Dreams of MSU, and the" pilots "- the famous Kutch ...
. When beckoned him neboN Probably since the day when he saw our red-hawks were difficult dogfight with a numerically superior enemy
. Victor, with bated breath, watching the rapid attack of our intrepid aviators.

Here are puffed and went to the ground a Nazi aircraft, second, third ... But the hit and one of our aircraft, draws a smoky tail sky ...

How long is ringing in the ears, whistling voice of motors and the dry crackle of fire. Flaring up and the lights went out in the high sky overturned. Close your eyes and imagine it is there in the fighting ranks red-fighters in the cockpit. "To become a such a brave and strong ..."

It is remembered for a lifetime. I remember the stories and the elder brother of Boris, a military pilot. In older sister Helen's husband also was a pilot. Perhaps this influenced the choice of profession, Victor. After the ten-year, he entered flying school initial training, then to a military school Bataisk pilots ...

First flight with an instructor remembered as a dream. The car seemed to have long fled, trembling, and suddenly was hanging above the ravine. "Well, everything! - Pang .- We will start to fall."

But the plane did not fall. Decreased in size houses and trees, was a narrow strip of meandering rivers, the wind tossed the car, like a feather. Then there were the zone, a flight with a roll, turns, landing ...

The night before the first solo flight Victor slept badly. No, not with emotion, that will not be able to plane. Because time flowed into the night surprisingly slow. Kursantska bed suddenly seemed uncomfortable and creaky, and prickly blanket ...

In short, woke up earlier than others for a long time rubbing the body with a wet towel, her hair and waited impatiently for the signal "up".

Takeoff, circle, landing ... Takeoff, circle, landing. And then hug friends, claps on the shoulder, back, firm handshakes, cheers, congratulations ...

. Hero for the day tried to remain solid, about the flight talking to some manipulative negligence, slowly pulled out of his pocket "Kazbek" and treated all
. In "pervonachalke" guys do not smoke, but just amused, but "vyletnaya" good pack of cigarettes was considered a kind of tradition
... The sky forced to grow up. Six months ago, they were boys, students, and now - the cadets pilots. How do I change the little time people! The boys grew up, learned the price of this friendship, became more serious.

A year later - College. Victor wrote home:

"We have become real pilots and fly for real, on the jet!" That would have looked Boris ... Tomorrow again fly. We arise early, at 5 am. Now ... Wow! Arrows went to the second round. I am happy to get here. Instructor - Lieutenant Baskakov - an excellent pilot and a nice man. However, the nature of his very special: gentle on the earth, the words "devil" did not say, but only rise - immediately starts to grumble. When we sit, think, is about to begin dressing, and he quietly investigates the flight ... "

- No, nothing heroic in my flight experience was not. No cases of unusual, vivid scenes, when he had to risk their lives. Everything was turning much easier, everyday, what I dreamed on the school bench, and the harder it everyday - so he says himself, or modesty, his usual, either because the pilots do not like talking about myself. But he could tell a lot.

... There were flights in adverse weather conditions. Fighter pilot Victor Gorbatko and his wingman were tasked to break through the clouds and gather them. Soared. Climbing, both fighters in a dense cloud went up parallel courses. Soon the upper edge was left behind, and glazing booths cheerfully struck up a solar glare. Couple held on the route, completed the task and dispersed.

Weather meanwhile deteriorated. The crews, who remained on the ground, flights canceled. Victor, questioning the accuracy of compass readings, led the plane to gyromagnetic compass. But this device did not give clear indications. What delatN tried to recover the plane's position on the course of landing, but in vain. That's it had ignited signal lamp emergency balance of fuel.

Suddenly, in tears clouds Victor saw the city, gleaming railroad track. That was enough to determine the position of the aircraft. I understand that, deviating from the airport to the right, left at the point with the opposite planting rate. After a glance at the menacing red light bulbs, the pilot requested landing on the move.

. - Sit down, - said the head of operations.

. Victor took into account the amendment to the wind, examined the speed indicator and altimeter and gently removed the engine speed ...

. Officers, who were at the start of the day, and silently shook his hand, shook their heads and uttered only briefly: "Yes, but ..."

. In the Star came from the first set
. He defended his MS degree at the Academy of Zhukovsky. However Khrunova was a double Alexei Leonov, then duplicated the engineer-researcher in the crew of the Soyuz-5.

It happens that we, journalists, me being his profession. One is for a week a taxi driver, the other - the seller, the third - a fireman, a fourth - the builder ... Then they all returned to their regular classes the enriched experiences, meetings. It is conceived from the inside what to write, to tell the reader. I've also changed the profession: I trained with the guys from the Star, sitting for hours on simulators, flying the astro-orientation, jumping with a parachute, participated in the testing of space technology. Often next to me was Victor Gorbatko - focused, knowing no fatigue, severe to himself and always ready to help others.

Then he prepared to fly on board the Soyuz-7 ". Prepared hard. He waited for the day of its launch, the athlete waiting for the shot, giving rise to the run. The shot that was heard October 12, 1969 in 13 hours 45 minutes Moscow time.

When the ship went into orbit, he clung to the porthole. White-Blue Earth was struck by its beauty. Were clearly visible to the city, forests, mountains. Well differentiated lakes, rivers and plowed fields. And where his family mestaN Kuban, native zavodN Then the earth dragged the clouds, and it seemed to be looking from her to the sky ...

Reflections of the Commander's voice interrupted:

- Includes manual system of orientation. We will work on the program ...
. When did the flight mnogosutochny Salyut, Victor was on duty at the control station, negotiated with the crew of orbital station, transmitted on board clarify the program works.
. - It is hard guys odorless land - he once dropped thoughtfully .- It is difficult ...
. - Did the earth smells?
. - You bet! When the Soyuz-seven landed and opened the hatch, I immediately felt this unique smell ..
. There would be no peaks reaching people, no matter how far left his space routes, he said, as in the old days, going the distance, always take with a handful of his native land.
. - And you take it? - I asked.
. - He took ...
. He took it a handful of native land and on board the Soyuz-24 ", which started on a winter day in 1977
. The task was complicated: dock the ship with the Salyut-5 ", go to the station and among other experiments and studies" to change the atmosphere at the orbital complex ". This was carried out for the first time.
- I confess, we are well excited, - says Vladimir Shatalov - when given on board the command to start the experiment. Yuri Glazkov on a signal corresponding to the Earth, opened the valve, and we heard the vacuum of space began with a hiss suck. air from the station. But on the other side of the confident and well-worked Viktor Gorbatko. And the air, released them from cylinders, invisible wall moved through the compartments. He did not reduce the pressure below the acceptable level ...
More than two weeks to work on two of the Salyut-5 ", and all this time was with them a handful of native land.
And then - the third start. Victor was the commander of the international crew, and together with the Vietnamese cosmonaut Pham Tuan piloted Soyuz-37 ", carried out research on the Salyut-6".