Oleg Makarov (cosmonaut) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Oleg Makarov
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Makarov in 1978
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| Born | 6 January 1933 Udomlya,Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
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| Died | 28 May 2003 (aged 70) Moscow, Russia
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| Nationality |  Soviet Union Russia |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union (twice) |
| Space career | |
| Cosmonaut | |
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Time in space
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20d 17h 20m |
| Selection | Civilian Specialist Group 3 |
| Missions | Soyuz 12, Soyuz 18a, Soyuz 27, Soyuz 26, Soyuz T-3 |
Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov (born January 6, 1933 – died May 28, 2003) was a brave Soviet cosmonaut. He was an engineer who flew into space four times.
Contents
Oleg's Early Life and Education
Oleg Makarov was born in a town called Udomlya in the Soviet Union. He loved learning and graduated from a top engineering school in Moscow in 1957. After school, he started working as an engineer. He helped design the famous Vostok spacecraft, which was one of the first spaceships. In 1966, he was chosen to train as a cosmonaut, which is what Russian astronauts are called.
His Journey to Space
Oleg Makarov was first part of a special program to send humans around the Moon. He trained with another famous cosmonaut, Alexei Leonov. But after the American Apollo 8 mission successfully went around the Moon, their flight was cancelled.
First Space Missions
Oleg's first trip to space was on a mission called Soyuz 12 in 1973. This flight was very important. It was a test to check new safety changes made to the Soyuz spacecraft. These changes were put in place after a sad accident with the Soyuz 11 mission.
His second flight, Soyuz 18a, had an exciting emergency landing! Just 21 minutes after launch, the mission had to be stopped. Oleg and his crewmate landed safely in the Altay Mountains.
Visiting Space Stations
Oleg's third launch was on Soyuz 27. He flew to the Salyut 6 space station. This was a big space laboratory orbiting Earth. After five days, he returned to Earth using the Soyuz 26 spacecraft.
His last mission was Soyuz T-3. During this flight, Oleg and his team did important repairs on the Salyut 6 space station. He also trained as a backup for other missions like Soyuz 17 and Soyuz T-2. In total, Oleg Makarov spent more than 20 days in space!
Life After Spaceflight
After his amazing space adventures, Oleg Makarov continued to work as an engineer. He helped with the Mir space station program. Mir was a very famous space station that orbited Earth for many years. He also worked on the Energia-Buran project, which was a Soviet space shuttle. Oleg Makarov passed away in Moscow in 2003 from a heart attack.
Awards and Honors
Oleg Makarov received many special awards for his bravery and hard work:
- He was named a Hero of the Soviet Union two times. This is one of the highest honors in the Soviet Union.
- He also received the title of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.
- He earned the Order of Lenin four times, which was another very important award.
- He was given the Order "Blue Nile" from Ethiopia.
- Many cities made him an "Honorary Citizen," including Baikonur, Kaluga, and Yakutsk.
