posted 06-17-2011 06:33 PM               

Space Cover #114: Soyuz 3 Flight

Soyuz 3 with cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy onboard was launched on October 26, 1968 on a flight that lasted 94 hours 50 minutes, landing on October 30, 1968. This flight was the first since April 1967 when Vladimir Komarov died after the parachutes on Soyuz 1 failed to deploy.

Beregovoy was born on April 15, 1921 in what is now Ukraine. He joined the Soviet Air Force in 1941 and flew some 185 combat mission sorties during WW2 and rose quickly through the ranks finishing the war as a Captain and Squadron Commander. In 1962 he applied and was accepted for cosmonaut training. Beregovoy died on June 30, 1995 during heart surgery and is buried in Moscow.

The cover shown above is a first day cover of Russia Scott #3545 issued on December 14, 1968 to commemorate the Soyuz 3 flight. Cover is autographed by Georgy Beregovoy.