Pavlo Popovych: How the first Ukrainian to visit space and sing "Watching the sky and thinking a thought". A legendary video

Did you know that the first song performed in space was a Ukrainian song? It happened during a space flight from Baikonur on August 12, 1962.

The Ukrainian cosmonaut Pavlo Popovych was on board the Vostok 4 spacecraft, and Serhiy Koroliov was on the radio. The famous Ukrainian folk song "Watching the sky" was performed for him. Pavlo Popovych was born on October 5, 1930. He became the first Ukrainian to travel in space. Today, OBOZ.UA recalls the path of this outstanding man.

The path to space

The future cosmonaut was born in the town of Uzyn, Bila Tserkva district, Kyiv region. When it came time to choose his future profession, he went to study at an aviation school and received the profession of a fighter pilot. At the age of 29, he was offered to participate in the selection of pilots for important but dangerous flights. Pavlo agreed and in 1960 was included in the first group of cosmonauts.

The stages of astronaut training were extremely difficult, but Popovych passed them all and became one of the six candidates who were selected to make the first flight into space. However, Yuri Gagarin, who was a good friend of Pavlo's, was chosen, so during his flight Popovych was allowed to stay in the launch bunker and stay in touch with Yuri for moral support.

The first flight

Pavlo made his first flight into space on August 12, 1962. The flight lasted 3 days and became historic for several reasons.

It was the world's first group flight that also lasted several days.

During this flight, the astronauts performed a wide program of scientific, technical, medical and biological experiments.

For the first time, spacecraft were oriented in space using a manual control system.

During this flight, the first experiments on radio communication between spacecraft in Earth orbit were conducted.

The first video report from orbit was broadcast on television.

And of course, the first song was performed in space. A Ukrainian song.

Pavlo Popovych stayed in orbit for 2 days, 22 hours and 57 minutes. He circled the Earth 48 times during this flight. After this experience, he remained in the cosmonaut squadron and continued his training for new missions.

The second flight

The Ukrainian cosmonaut made his second flight 12 years after the first. It took place in July 1974. He was the commander of the Soyuz-14 spacecraft and the Salyut-3 orbital station. The flight lasted 15 days, 17 hours and 30 minutes.

End of career

After completing his space career, Pavlo Popovych focused on popularizing astronautics. In one of his interviews, Pavlo Popovych noted that cosmonautics originated in Ukraine. It was Ukrainians who made a huge contribution to the development of astronautics: "If you analyze it carefully, astronautics originated in Ukraine. Just look at it: Kibalchych, Kondratyuk, Korolev, Chelomei, Yangel, Glushko... Ukrainians have made a huge contribution to the development of world cosmonautics. I am a Ukrainian, and I am proud of it," he said.

Popovych has become a symbol of scientific progress and a model of courage and dedication, inspiring Ukrainians to pursue their goals by his example.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!