spacetoday.net: Former Soviet cosmonaut Feoktistov dies

Former Soviet cosmonaut Feoktistov dies

Posted: Tue, Nov 24, 2009, 6:07 AM ET (1107 GMT)
Konstantin Feoktistov, a Soviet spacecraft designer and member of the first three-man space mission, passed away Saturday at the age of 83. Feoktistov, a civilian engineer and spacecraft designer, flew on the Voskhod 1 in 1964, the first spacecraft with a three-man crew. Feoktistov also had the distinction of being the only cosmonaut before the fall of the Soviet Union who was not a member of the Communist Party. While medical issues prevented him from flying in space again, he did work on the design of future vehicles, including the Soyuz spacecraft and Salyut and Mir space stations.