Traditions and superstitions of cosmonauts

Yana Odinokova, 26/6/2022

It is well known that it is the representatives of the space industry, and cosmonauts in particular, who are the most superstitious people, observing a number of various traditions and even signs, which we will discuss in this article.

This fact looks, say, contradictory, because cosmonautics is the sphere of the most complex technologies at the moment. On the other hand, it is the observance of traditions that helps cosmonauts to defuse any tension before the flight. Despite the fact that each of them is an excellent specialist, trained by the same excellent specialists with extreme care both physically and intellectually, and psychologically, space flight is space flight and the risk to life, always present, makes the cosmonaut profession one of the most dangerous professions in the world. The present time is by no means the very dawn of the space age, when a brave person literally took a step into the unknown, which allows you to feel more confident. The experience accumulated over decades helps the cosmonaut find his bearings in time and behave correctly in any doubtful situation, even an emergency. Nevertheless, the superstitions bequeathed by the previous representatives of the space industry, from designers to cosmonauts, have remained to this day and are an integral part, one might say, of the cultural component of cosmonautics. And from the fact that the laws of psychology are almost as immutable as physical principles, and from the fact that these traditions are the memory of generations. Some of them stem from painful and bitter events, characteristic of the beginning of the space age and paths that were still untraveled, while many, on the contrary, are charged with positive and obvious optimism. Let’s proceed directly to their description, dear reader.

Black Mondays, unlucky dates

October 24 at the Baikonur cosmodrome is a day of mourning, because on this very day, at intervals of three years, in 1960 and 1963, two major disasters occurred, which weighed heavily on the history of the cosmodrome. Since that time, on the day of October 24, all work has been stopped at Baikonur and rockets have not been launched.

The fact is that in 1960, during the preparation for the launch of the R-16 rocket, an unauthorized engine was switched on, as a result of which an explosion occurred. A strong fire claimed the lives of 74 people, including the First Commander-in-Chief of the Missile Forces, Marshal of Artillery Mitrofan Nedelin.

In 1963, also on October 24, a fire broke out in one of the combat shafts of the R-9 rocket, killing 8 people.

From now on, Sergei Pavlovich Korolyov, the famous Chief Designer, opposed the launch of rockets not only on October 24, but also on any Monday, so for several years after that rockets were not launched on Mondays. Then, according to legend, when the tradition departed, until 1965 there were about 11 accidents, and since then the tradition bequeathed by Sergei Pavlovich has been sacredly honored at the cosmodrome.

“Happy” operator

Another superstition of the Chief Designer was the “happy” operator, Captain Smirnitskii, without whom not a single launch could do. Smirnitskii always pressed the “start” button, even when he had eczema, because Sergei Pavlovich believed that Smirnitskii had a “light hand.”

Woman on board

It just so happened that some of the traditions of Russian cosmonautics were borrowed from the navy, therefore, for a long time it was believed that a woman is an unlucky omen not only on a sea ship, but also on a space ship. By the way, in the entire history of Russian cosmonautics, only four Russian women have been in space.

Autographs

Cosmonauts never sign autographs before their first flight. But on the door of the hotel room, where the cosmonauts spend the night before the launch, as well as on the bottle of vodka that they drink on Earth, the cosmonauts must sign.

Planting a seedling

Before the flight, each member of the crew plants their own, personalized seedling on the alley of cosmonauts at Baikonur, both as a sign of a kind of gratitude to people who have been in space before them, and as a living monument to those who, for whatever reason, having gone into space, did not set foot on Earth upon his return.

Visiting memorials and memorable places

The ritual prior to being sent into orbit begins back in Star City, where the cosmonauts first visit the memorial dedicated to the memory of Yuri Gagarin, as well as the first cosmonauts who died during space missions - Vladimir Komarov, Georgy Dobrovolskii, Viktor Patsaev, Vladislav Volkov. Here, cosmonauts always leave flowers – red carnations.

After visiting the memorials, the cosmonauts go to Yuri Gagarin’s study, enter their words in the visitor’s book, and also, according to rumors, mentally appeal to Gagarin’s spirit. They ask him for permission to fly.

Themselves with a mustache

By the way, whiskers were not allowed into space for a long time – a bad omen. During the flight of the mustachioed Viktor Zholobov, there were problems, and the program had to be terminated ahead of schedule.

“Extreme,” not “last”

Cosmonauts never say goodbye to their escorts and repeat the well-known Gagarin gesture when they are ready – they wave their hand, and they will never call the launch of any spacecraft “last,” rather they will call it “extreme” or “final.”

Rollout of the Soyuz

The Soyuz rocket rolls out to the launch pad 48 hours before the launch. For good luck, the technicians who monitor the process on the train put coins on the rails. But the crew itself is forbidden to see the rocket before launch in order to avoid failures.

“Monastic” tonsure

Before the flight, the cosmonauts are obliged to cut their hair, thereby renouncing everything Earthly, and head towards space.

Before the launch, the cosmonauts must watch the White Sun of the Desert

One of the reasons why the viewing of this film has become a tradition is the training of previous crews on the set. This film is used as a manual for training cosmonauts in filming. Also, this tradition is also associated with the tragic death of the crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft: everyone literally waited for the next flight after it with bated breath, and when it passed safely, took note of some of the actions that “brought good luck” to the crew. In particular, it turned out that it was the White Sun of the Desert that the cosmonauts watched before launch. It has become a tradition.

One of the components of breakfast on the day of the launch

At breakfast, the cosmonauts take a sip of champagne (the backup team drinks 100 grams of technical alcohol each).

Unspoken anthem of the cosmonauts

The departure of the cosmonauts to the launch pad is accompanied by the most famous song of the Zemlyane group “Grass near the House”, which was once extremely popular and remains popular today, sounding at Baikonur.

“Irrigation” of the wheel

It is considered a habit for cosmonauts to urinate on the rear right wheel of the bus carrying them to the launch pad. Female cosmonauts, however, can avoid this custom, but many, especially superstitious ones, are rumored to get out of the situation by splashing pre-prepared urine from a jar onto the wheel. They say that the tradition dates back to the time of Yuri Gagarin, who was the first to fulfill it, asking him to stop the bus on the steppe.

Horseshoes “for good luck”

By the way, the bus itself is decorated with horseshoes for good luck.

The spirit of Yuri Alekseevich

Again, on the way to the launch pad, the cosmonauts listen to the “spirit of Gagarin” to see if he will allow them to go into space.

Drink to success

The backup team, which in the meantime was training on the ship, makes room and goes out to the journalists. There is about half an hour before the start, and the understudies must fulfill their ritual duties: a little drink for success along with the journalists present. They say that twice the cosmonauts did not observe this tradition, and the launches were unsuccessful. According to legend, this tradition was founded not by cosmonauts, but by journalists – Georgii Loriya, a correspondent for the «Ленинская смена»/Leninskaya Smena (Lenin Exchange) newspaper, and Yaroslav Nechesa, head of the Baikonur press center. Being present at the launch to the Mir station in March 1992, they got quite cold and went to “warm up” in the buffet, where Anatolii Solovyov and Sergeii Avdeev, the backup crew of Soyuz TM-14, unexpectedly came out. They did not refuse the offer to drink, and when they all drank, Loria, looking at his watch, remarked: “There is still half an hour before the launch.”

Friendly kick

This funny combination is also literally, because before the launch, the cosmonaut actually receives a so-called friendly kick from his superiors as a kind of blessing, which certainly inspires the cosmonauts a lot.

The choice of a mascot

The cosmonauts choose their talisman, which is usually called “Boris,” the choice of a mascot is the captain’s prerogative. “Boris” is mounted in the command compartment so that it can be seen by cameras monitoring the crew during launch and orbit. “Boris” is a hybrid of superstition and practical use. It serves not only as a talisman for the team, but also as a simple “beacon” for ground services, showing whether the ship has reached a height where the earth’s gravity is practically no longer active: here the toy stops hanging and begins to “levitate.”

“Tanya”

At the cosmodrome in Plesetsk, before the launch of the launch vehicle, they always write “Tanya” on it. They say that this name was brought out on the first rocket by an officer in love with a certain Tanya. Once, when they forgot to print a happy name on the body, the rocket exploded before launch.

Hospitable reception

On board, the crew is traditionally greeted with bread and salt.

A series of rituals upon return

Upon returning, the crew will also have to perform a number of rituals:

autograph the soot-covered shell of the descent capsule and inside the cabin of the helicopter that took them away;
drink a bottle of vodka specially prepared before the start;
plant a tree;
pay tribute to Yuri Gagarin by visiting his memorial.

Linked from Ceremonies