Burnt by shuttle

– asked Magomed, wishing to continue with that to stay

on a wave of humor.

Victor still had a smile after Yura’s first joke.

– Tell me! Victor cheered.

– The pilot’s wife decided to get rid of a nasty cat, -began Magomed, – put her in a bag and let her go far from home. She did not have time to come home, and the cat was right there. On the next day he took her to work. In the evening the cat returned back. Then she asked her husband-pilot to take her away of the city and descend from the sky. The next day the wife, killed by anxious expectations, complains to the neighbor: “I worry about my husband – the cat returned home, and my husband still no”.

Three men in the far corner of the cafe laughed so much that they paid attention to themselves. Schaeffer just pretended that laughed, but inside everything shrank from the inevitable expectation of another catastrophe.

– For me and “yesterday” as “today” – time is so fast flies” Yuri said. – I have a feeling, as if we only yesterday buried the best guys from the detachment who already is nicknamed “The Wolf Pack”: Victor Bukreev, Oleg Kononenko. Do you remember, Magomed, how Igor Wolf at the funeral feast of Oleg said: “I’m sorry, guys: I did not know that I was calling you on death”. – Yura looked at the waiter and made a sign with fingers, which meant – just a little bit of vodka. – “Inevitably Losses”? Yura muttered. – What the heck. Today they are, and tomorrow I am. It is necessary to do something, but I do not know what. Here I have stated my understanding of the matter – I did not sleep all night, drank coffee, smoked cigarettes and wrote. Victor, edit, correct and when you can. Valuable information. When you get the fee a box of cognac from you. Good?

“Very well,” agreed Victor.

Scheffer concentrated, strained his eyes and began to read:

– “The program” Energy – Buran “began with a provocativeAmerican actions on “space racing”. At mid-seventies exploration of the Soviet Union sniffed out some details of the American super-space-based weapons “Space Shuttle”. In the technical description of the shuttle was written that it would have a great opportunity for maneuvering, which will allow him to make a dive from space in Moscow and throw off on it nuclear bomb. This was not a joke, and time proved the correctness of such a version: nineteen hundred and eighty sixth year in the course of the usual, at first glance, flight of the American “Space Shuttle”, having left the orbit, made an accurate maneuver: deployed at an altitude of eighty kilometers, dived into the atmosphere of the planet just above Moscow. The officer of Soviet air defense, who observed the flight of the shuttle, fell in a stupor…

– Really? -Ustinov asked in surprise when he was told about the capabilities of the American shuttle.

“Yes,” his assistant confirmed without emotion.

“That’s how it can throw off on our heads a nuclear bomb”, the minister suggested.

“Maybe Dmitry Fedorovich,” the assistant confirmed.

– Maybe. And not one of our interceptor aircraft can not do anything to prevent him. In addition, the shuttle has a long manipulator with which it directly in orbit can disassemble any desired satellite in pieces and, without asking permission from anybody, take away the the equipment with a total weight of up to 14.5 tons home in America.

Ustinov turned white, his glasses slid down his nose.

“Call Maximov to me.” How can I report this to Brezhnev, I do not know.

Then occurred the categorical reaction of Leonid Breznev, who did not have the habit of standing on ceremony, if speech was about the security of the country: to prevent Americans from superiority, although they have recently become more compliant in negotiations to reduce the degree of international tension. Words in words, but in practice you cannot give the Americans such superiority. For sub keeping the peace always were needed strong arguments. Аfter meetings in the Politburo, consultations with military strategists and industry, in February 1976, the government issued a decree on the creation of the national reusable space system Energia-Buran” Aftera reusable space system – “Energy – Buran”. All leading space organizations were attracted to this work: more than a thousand scientific research institutes, design bureaus, enterprises of industry and about 1.5 million people. According to press, the Soviet people singled out the program “Buran” more than $ 17 billion. But what happened futher? Someone, knowing that nothing to do with the program, found a weak place in this program – to remove people from list of the detachment, which was soon to take off in space. They were the most persistent and experienced Soviet pilots full of confidence and patriotism – eight people, for the professional and spiritual qualities of five hundred candidates for the seat. In the first eight secret-special detachment included Oleg Kononen, Anatoly Levchenko, Rimantas Stankevičius, Alexander Shukin, Nikolay Sadovnikov, Victor Bukreev and Alexander Lysenko and, of course, Igor Volk himself, who was elected a commander, because he was the best.

Soon began inexplicable things: the list of the detachment for somebody became available and hunting began on them: one after another began to crash, and began to melt detachment of Wolf. The commission did not find out anything, recognizing that it was human factor, and attributed this to inevitable losses. The State Security Committee also also spread their hands-a strange coincidence of events.” – Yura did the pauseand raised his head: first he looked at Magomed, then on Victor. – Correctly written?

Yura missed another glass, purely in Russian, sniffed a piece of bread and, looking around in oder not overhear a secret monolog, returned to the conversation:

“The first victim was a young test pilot Victor Bukreev, full of vitality and energy. He was born in April 5, 1949 in the city of Kamensk-Uralsky Sverdlov-of the RSFSR. Before serving in the Soviet Army worked as an electrician at the factory. In 1972 he graduated from Higher Military Aviation School of. In 1976 he graduated from the School of test pilots of the Flight Research Institute in the Ministry of Aviation Industry. Since June 1976 – on flight test work in the LII named after M.M. Gromov. On may 17, 1977, on a sunny spring day, when everything is so beautiful and so want to enjoy life, he performed at the airfield in Zhukovsky training on the MiG-25PU. Not yet taking off, right on the runway the airplane has a nose landing gear. As a result, of friction of iron on concrete a fire broke out. Bukreev, who was in the first cabin, received severel burns and died on the way to the hospital, and, strangely enough, commander E. Lebedinsky remained and unharmed.”

Yura raised his head.

“How are you?” – It’s strange, – Victor answered, put the pen on the table and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Next,” Yura read out. – Alexander Lysenko.-“Literally a month later, death overtook him, an experienced and desperate test pilot. Together with his partner Genenadiy Mamontov he on the MiG-23UB conducted a test of a new flying device. They broke into a tailspin in a nonright moment and an unnecessary place – under them was the city, but he can not jump. After a while, when the plane lowered its nose and, accelerating with a largle angle of dive, fell to the ground outside the outskirts of the old Yegoryevsk family. The plane fell on a wasteland near the brick plant on the edge of the quarry, from where the plant extracted clay. Not far from than place grew russian birches, which he loved and sang as Esenin A partner who did not have any wearing to ‘Buran’, survived. Another mystical countries-ness”. – Yuri paused, looking at Magomed, who again became tense.

The next one is Oleg Kononenko, “Yuri added. – I want to stop to think more and add a little lyrics, because I knew him well. Oleg, a pupil of the fifth grade of Rostov school together with his younger brother Peter was sitting on the roof of the house and counting the bombers, with a certain interval betwin them/over their heads.

“Peter, how do you think, where do they fly from? "– Oleg askedbrother, consumed by the desire to get to the airfield and touch by hand the plane. This gave him no rest day or night. When they calculated that it was very far away, they realized that it will take more than one day of walking. They postponed hike on the first day of summer vacation.

A few days later, the brothers reached the airfield, not asking anyone how to go, because they were afraid to reveal their secret to others. The mechanic was cleaning the plane with a rag in his hand. and when he saw the boys next to him was surprised. “Well, get out of here!”, – The mechanic went on the offensive, lifting both hands into the air. Oleg begged: “Uncle, please let us help to clean the plane. “That’s how Oleg first touched an iron, cold body of plane, which finally decided the future of the boy. In 1952 he entered the technical school and simultaneously went to the flying club, where he began to learn the basics of flying. At twenty nearly a year he worked as an aeroclub instructor, but the desire the fly was sickening him. There is no choice, and he begins to fly on the the Mi-2, Mi-4, on an airplane u-2 maize harvester for agricultural so it took seven years. He, feeling in himself the talent of the pilot wanted to get rid of routine, but does not know how. He soon learnt from his friend Shevchenko about the existence of school of test pilots. Oleg managed to get through qualification competition and enroll in this school. But here again, the school turned out to be a helicopter. But he was lucky in that the instructor in the flight case turned out to be a well-known tester Karnaev, a specialist in vertical take-off, and next were tests of a vertical plane take-off by Yak-36. Ten years later, when the design bureau Yakovleft released first sample of deck attack aircraftYak-38, there was a problem – none of the pilots could not squeeze the plane in the air. Long thought and decided to invite a helicopter pilot for testing. In 1972, for the first time he test driver of this type of aircraft was Oleg: a tall, slightly stooped, in a demi-season coat and a rabbit hat with pubescent ears named “student”. On that momen he was 34 years old. Looking at him, no one could have thought that in this person, nicknamed “student”, sits an ace of flying art. From the first time he hung in the air like a helicopter- the designers were happy that their calculations came true. That’s how they met: the plane, not like airplane, and the pilot, unlike the pilot. They noticed inhim a talent as a tester, who is well versed in the aero-dynamics, dynamics and control of the aircraft. That is why helicopter disigners trusted only to him the most complex programs, such as engine failures at various stages of flight, critical modes for combat maneuvering, landing in difficult conditions. The talent of the pilot is very important, ability to react instantly to the behavior of machins in the air. According to his colleagues, Oleg was of dutility and great capacity for work. He liked to write letters at home in his spare time that he knew that he was always being waited. “Everything is normal with my work. Lately began to fly on airplanes. But all the time I want to come home to squat around the house with son Oleg on my back, drink teas, eat shi, enjoy life and laugh at happiness ".The links of design department with the were strengthening, and the new machine step by step went towards production line – the dream of any pilot-test and sometimes they go to it all life: ups, downs, crashes, fractures, hospitals and again in a new circle- such is the ruthless life of a test pilot.

In Kubinka in 1973, Brezhnev personally with the generals was present at the demonstration of Yak-38 capabilities and was delighted with the skill of the pilot.

– Who is it? Asked Brezhnev Marshal Grechko. Brezhnev wasin a white shirt without sleeves and a tie, and so it seemed thin unlike the current General Secretary from the TV screen…

“This is Oleg Kononenko,” answered the marshal with pride. He was on top of all. – A true master of his craft. Would be in the army all, such as he.

“Call him to me,” ordered the Secretary-General.

Oleg Kononenko shook hands with the Secretary General and with excitement looked into his smiling eyes, overspread by wide eyebrows, taking from him a personal watch with thirty precious stones on which was engraved: “From Brezhnev.”

To increase the combat power of the aircraft, especially in the south hemisphere, where high air temperatures reduced its functionality, constructors decided to use a short take-off on the deck. And how can we do without Kononenko again -he turned from a “student” into an authoritative and confident in itself a “teacher”. Just his appearance on the deck of the cruiser evoked delight of the pilots. But by that time he was numbered in the cosmonaut detachment of Igor Volk.

“Oleg, you’re not going anywhere,” said the Wolf. – Leave yourdangerous jokes. There are enough pilots to do that without you.

“I can not, Igor Petrovich,” Oleg said sadly. – If they called, then they want me and besides, I started this business and should finish it. Wolf perfectly understood Oleg: any test pilot must polish the apparatus and pass. He is the ultimate link and decisive. Igor Petrovich said nothing and sadly said goodbye to Oleg.

December, 1979. “Voice of America”: “Today at 13.00 in the area of Vladivostok was wrecked by an airplane with vertical takeoff and landing of deck aviation of The Soviet Union. Nothing is known about the fate of the pilot …”

Larissa, Kononenko’s wife, picked up the tube bursting phone.

– Hello, Larissa, – Oleg’s voice rang out. “Put the kettle on, I’ll be home soon.”

As soon as Larissa saw her husband, her joy disappeared: Oleg under the eye had a blue hematoma, and when he entered thebath she was horrified – the whole body was bruised.

“What’s the matter, dear?” Larissa asked with horror in her eyes.

“I’ve been catapulted,” he said with a stiff expression. He lowered his head: his wife had never seen him like this- killed and confused.

At the end of August, Oleg was summoned to continue the test. His son and wife saw him off at the airport. Wife for the wholelife remembered his open palm with outspread fingers pressed against the cold glass with an external stoons. He said goodbye to his family, and there were tears in the corners of his eyes. He then seemed small, helpless: the feeling- somehow knew that he sees his family in the last time.

September 8, 1980, at 6 hours 13 minutes Moscow time time, in the South China Sea with the rise of the same self-summer from the same ship with the same operation – working off methods of truncated take-off in the limiting modes are not

The valves of the nozzle of the lifting and moving engine the plane “dipped”, hit the wheels on the bar. After leaving the deck, the plane became a hollow decrease. Kononenko did not catapult, until the last trying to save the plane. Before hitting the water in 150 meters ahead of the ship with bubbling streams of water, raise the engines, from the plane, the flap was torn off, the car turned 180 degrees. Yak-38 with the number 45 onthe board was still afloat for a minute, but no movementsin the cabin was not. The combination of lateral and vertical cargo caused a sudden loss of consciousness of the pilot, this could not be catapulted. He was killed and buried in Zhukovsky in the same row as his comrades.

With a new set of “wolf pack”, many pilots refused to go to the program “Buranю” Could not do thatVladimir Turovets, Victor Zabolotsky, Ural SultaNov, Magomed Tolboev, Sergey Tresvyatsky, Yuri Sheffer and Yuri Prikhodko – they really, since childhood, have been sick of space. Superstition and rumors did not concern them The renewed squad for the first time gathered together forfuneral for Oleg Kononenko.

Vladimir Turovets

At a wake at a small table in a small room the dark-skinned faces of the members of the detachment were dark. Wolf was mysterious but was silent – his “pack” continued to melt in his eyes. Vladimir Turovets unfolded the scratched, crumpled sheet and read out a verse, ending with the words: “Who will be the next?” And following February 8, 1982, Vladimir Turovets was himself. He, along with Nikolai Bessonov worked out the “edge mode of landing of the Mi-8 helicopter. After three blessings, with both engines switched off (on modes of autorotation with “undermining”) the regime was planned on “small gas”. The fourth regime was fatal: the helicopter fell with a large pitch angle, turned around and flashed like a match. Turovets was killed in a fire at 13 o’clock 40 minutes.

After the death of Turovets in the detachment, all the air crashes again were analized with the competent commission and no trace of foreign intelligence services did not find. Accidents recognized as accident and resumed tests.

Anatoly Levchenko went to space in December 1987. On the ground, he returned with the crew of the station “MIR” by Yuri Romanenko and Alexander Alexandrov.Landing took place in difficult weather conditions: iIn the Kazakh steppe was raging storm. The descent device strongly hit the ground, all the cosmonauts received bruises. But if Romanenko and Alexandrov were immediately hospitalized, Anatoly Levchenko had to perform an experiment on piloting the aircraft. Physicians who arrived at the site of the earth, recommend to the cosmonaut to interrupt the experiment, since his state was unstable. But Levchenko insisted on the continuation of the tests. He successfully copes with the program that Igor Volk has already passed and is awarded a honorary award – the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. But since that ill-fated day the cosmonaut is beginning to torment severe headaches. He could not resist for a long time and died. The official version – death came as a result of injuries sustained during a failed landing of the lander. And I adhere to another version, according to which he was poisoned with medicines, which, according to the program, h e experienced on board of a spaceship.

Alexander Shukin

The sixth squad lost Alexander Shchukin. He crashed into Zhukovsky on the sports Su-26 in August 1988.At the funeral of Shukin, the traditional passage in the sky over him was done by Rimantas Stankevičius, who, in a conversation with me recently confessed that he felt some sort of shadowing…

Igor Wolf – a special person

Childhood and youth

With two rods of reeds and a small bucket for fair-haired a boy approached the pond and stood on a ledge. He did not go unnoticed by the two peasants who had been fishing since the early morning: next to them on the wood was burning pot-bellied teapot. In fn hour peasants, endowed with big experience, noticed how the bucket of an unfamiliar boy quickly filled with crucian carp. They became interested, and they, forgetting about pride, approached him, to learn about eccentricity. The boy looked up from the water’s surface, raised his temperamental eyes and answered to the greeting.

“Where are you from, boy?”

The boy thought that he might be asked to leave from here, and he pricked up his ears, clenched his fists, ready to defend his place.

“I’m from the city,” he answered, pulling at the rods. – We recently moved here from Kharkov.

– What is your name?

“Igor,” he answered, then added. – Surname – Wolf.

– What kind of balls do you have?

“It’s from semolina,” Igor answered. “I helped them in

kerosene – the fish reaches for the smell.

“Has your father taught you this?”

“No,” Igor shook his head. – I searched and found an experienced fisherman. His name is Uncle Thema. He told me. – In the air came the rumble of an approaching plane. The boy already jumped, forgetting about the fishing pole. Aircraft with red stars under their wings flew over their heads. The stunned boy looked at it for a long time antil the plane has not disappeared from view. He lowered his head.

“It’s a MiG-15 jet fighter,” he said to the peasants in the course of his thoughts, then added, “it can fly at a speed of thousands of kilometers per hour. – Having seen the equiblowing on the faces of the fishermen, he tempered his admiration and droped finger pointing to the sky. – Try kerosene and you will succeed.

The peasants, returning to their seats, continued the discussion.

“Heroes grow out of these,” said one. – “Little yet, but already independent. Not like my Igor, lobother.

“Maybe he’s older than your boy,” suggested a man.

The first rose to his full height, turned to the side of the boy and asked loudly.

– Igor, and how old are you?

Nine.

The man raised his eyebrows and pressed his lips.

– Did you hear? And my eleven, – with regret said he. – “From this, Lyova, a real man will grow up.” Remember him – Igor Wolf. Pour it in!\

Igor was born on April 12, 1937 in the Ukraine in the city Zmiev of the Kharkov region. His father Peter was an engineer and was directed to work in Ussuriisk Primorsky Territory.

In 1941, his family decided to move closer to relatives by sending all household containers things. And all of a sudden, on June 22, 1941, war was rampant. The container has left, and the family had been remained on a place without personal belongings and household utensils – plates, a teapot with bare beds, without a table and bedside tables. And his father left to the front. So Igor had to wake up from early childhood to assume the responsibility of the elders: to fish, collect mushrooms, berries to help his mother and survive himself- “street” childhood, which tempered his character, from whose world and physical condition preceded him age.

In the early 50’s the family moved to Kursk. Igor’s mother often was ill, and the household was on Igor.

The physics lesson ended when the doors of the ninth class entered two men in the army uniform. The one who is older, asked the teacher for permission to apply to the students. He began to walk along the board back and forth with hands on his back before opened his mouth.

“We are from the flying club, we teach the guys to fly,” he said. – Now we form a new group and if among you there is a husband-bold, who would like to associate themselves with aviation I want you to raise hands.

Igor’s hand soared first and how much he wanted to enter the club, has become a sufficient argument when selecting from a dozen “brave”. Igor came running home to please his mother andto reveal his decision to join the flying club.

Mom coughed, and the cough dragged on. Igor immediately poured warm water in a glass and handed it to her.

– Igor. I do not want you to become a military man,” her mother said.

– Why?

Did not you hear how your uncle complained to the service

in the army?

“He’s a tankman and he’s tired of sniffing diesel.”

– And what about airplanes, not diesel fuel?

“No, there’s kerosene.”

– What’s the difference? Igor was sad.

“The smell is familiar,” he mumbled, unambiguously remembering his duty from childhood: follow a kerosene lamp and refuel it.

Mother lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, son,” her mother said. “A lot of that you do the house-work, I must do it, but, as you can see, I am ill and can not…

Do not apologize, Mom.” I am not talking about that.

– Well, if you want, go – I’m not going all my life on hiding you around the house, “my mother said and immediately burst on a new cough. Warm water did not help. Igor did not want to go against the mother’s decision, but also a happya turned-up event to learn how to fly a plane did not want to miss.

But the will of his mother was stronger: by family Council Igor went to Kharkov to the artillery academy named after Stalin. Have begun examinations, barracks life and drill step. New friends, among whom he found and like him, found themselves at the academy at will of parents.

– Thank God, there is one exam, – with a sigh, said Dima, a new acquaintance of Igor.

They were on the third floor of the building among the barracksfuss.

“I do not care,” said Igor. – I’ll do it- bad, I’ll not do it – it’s bad too.

Why is that so?”

“I do not want to be an artilleryman, even if I do.” If I do not do it, I do not want to upset my mother. I want to fly in airplanes, Dima. “He poked his head out the window and dreamily looked at the sky. – I want to soar among the clouds, I want to slideabove the treetops, I want to swim in the blue of the sky. You are one in the sky free like a bird…