Gennadi Sarafanov, Soyuz 15 cosmonaut, born 1942

Gennadi Sarafanov, born January 1, 1942 in the former Soviet Union, went into space aboard Soyuz 15 in August 1974. He and fellow cosmonaut Lev Dyomin were to dock with Salyut 3 space station but the mission was aborted after docking failed.  It was his only spaceflight before retiring.

He passed away in September 2005.

Soyuz 15 cosmonaut Lev Dyomin born 1926

Lev Dyomin, born January 11, 1926 in Moscow, made one trip into space on Soyuz 15 in August 1974.  With fellow cosmonaut Gennadi Sarafanov, they attempted to dock with the space station Salyut 3 but were unsuccessful.  They returned to Earth two days after launch and neither went into space again.

Dyomin passed away December 18, 1998.

Soyuz 15 launched 1974, Soyuz 31 launched 1978

Bykovsky and Jahn

Lev Dyomin and Gennadi Sarafanov blasted off in Soyuz 15 August 26, 1974 on their way to the Salyut 3.   When they arrived at the space station, the electronic docking system malfunctioned and the crew had to return to Earth, because they didn't have enough fuel to continue docking attempts. The Soviet news agency TASS stated the cosmonauts were merely 'practicing docking techniques'.  They landed August 28.


On August 26, 1978, Valery Bykovsky and Sigmund Jahn (the first German cosmonaut) took off in Soyuz 31 to Salyut 6 space station with more success than Soyuz 15.  They swapped out the crew already on the station.  They returned November 2.