Mars Sakirovich Rafikov

Mars Rafikov
Country:	Soviet Union
Organization:	PWO
selected on	April 28, 1960 ( 1st cosmonaut group )
Calls:	0 space flights
retired on	March 24, 1962 disciplinary reasons

Mars Sakirowitsch Rafikow ( Russian Марс Заки́рович Ра́фиков ; born September 29,  1933 in Begabad, Jalalabat region , Kyrgyz ASSR (then RSFSR ), Soviet Union ; †  July 23,  2000 in Almaty , Kazakhstan ) was a prospective Soviet cosmonaut . He belonged to the first cosmonaut group in the Soviet Union , but retired prematurely for disciplinary reasons without having participated in a space flight.

Life

His father died at the front in September 1943 when he was ten years old. He lived with his mother, a nurse, and his two siblings until 1948, when he graduated from 7th grade elementary school in Jalalabat .

Training to become a pilot

After primary school he attended an aviation school in Leninabad , which he successfully completed in 1951. Then began his special training to become a fighter pilot , which took place at the flying schools in Syzran and Borisoglebsk . From April 18, 1956 he served together with his later comrades in the cosmonaut group Filatjew and Varlamow as a fighter pilot in the air defense .

Selection and training as a cosmonaut

When the Soviet Union was looking for military pilots from August 1959 to train them to be space travelers, Rafikov was shortlisted and was accepted into the group on April 28, 1960. From June 17th, the First Cosmonaut Group of the Soviet Union , which comprised 20 candidates, was complete. On June 30, 1960 he was promoted to captain . He completed his basic training on April 3, 1961 with the exam. Rafikov, however, was not one of the six candidates who should be trained first for the Vostok spacecraft . On December 16, 1961 he was awarded the (not officially to be worn) title of cosmonaut. In addition to his cosmonaut training, he studied between September 1961 and March 1962 at the military academy for engineers of the air force "Prof. NJ Schukowski ” , but without completing this training. Rafikow got serious problems due to his behavior in his free time (alcohol abuse, presumptuous demeanor, reputation as a womanizer , physical violence against his wife because of her intention to divorce). In his statement during the disciplinary proceedings, he stated that he had behaved no differently from Gagarin and Titov , who did not receive any consequences. In addition, he wanted to continue to live with his family (at this point he already had a 5-year-old son) and had no plans to divorce. He was expelled from the cosmonaut group with effect from March 24, 1962.

Further career

Rafikov served again as a pilot in the Soviet Air Force from April 10, 1962 . He reached his highest rank of major in 1970 and qualified as a 1st class military pilot in 1973. During his military pilot career he acquired licenses for the aircraft types Jakowlew Jak-11 and Jak-18 , Mikojan-Gurewitsch MiG-17 and MiG-27 as well as for the Sukhoi Su-7BKL . In 1978 it lost its airworthiness but was initially used for staff duties in air force units. Later he was an active participant in the Afghan war . From 1980 on, he coordinated operations of air force forces from the ground as a contact officer in an infantry battalion . On January 7, 1982, he was transferred to the reserve. After that he lived and worked in Almaty a. a. as an instructor for glider flying at the DOSAAF

Private

Rafikow was married three times in total and from these marriages has a son Igor (* 1956) and a daughter Elmira (* 1965). He was an avid glider pilot. Rafikow died on July 21, 2000 of complications from a heart attack. He was buried in the cemetery of the Kazakh village of Burunday, Almaty region.

Awards

• Order of the Red Star (two times: June 17, 1961 for taking part in the preparation of the first manned space flight and 1980 for taking part in the war in Afghanistan)

Web links

• Space facts: Mars Rafikov
• Mars Sakirowitsch Rafikow in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
• Astronaut.ru: Марс Закирович Рафиков (Russian)