Valery Bykovsky (1934-2019)  *84

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was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew three manned space mission space flights: Vostok 5, Soyuz 22, and Soyuz 31. He was also backup for Vostok 3 and Soyuz 37. Bykovsky was the son of Fyodor Fyodorovich Bykovsky and Klavdia Ivanova. At age 14 Valery wanted to attend naval school; however, his father was not a proponent of this idea and encouraged him to stay at his school. A few days later Valery listened to a lecture regarding the Soviet Air Force Club that inspired him to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. Following this lecture Valery would begin flight theory lessons when he turned 16 at the Moscow City Aviation Club. When he was 18 Bykovsky graduated aviation school and enrolled in the Kachinsk Military Aviation Academy. Bykovsky graduated the academy at 21 years old and received the rank of lieutenant. At 25 he became a jet fighter pilot and later became a pilot and parachute instructor with over 72 jumps by the time he began his cosmonaut training. At 26 years old he started his cosmonaut training at Zhukovsky Military Engineering academy. Bykovsky's most famous flight took place in 1963 aboard Vostok 5 where he would famously fly within a few kilometers of first female cosmonaut Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova. During his orbit aboard Vostok 5, Bykovsky was also made a member of the communist party.

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