Yegorov, Boris Borisovich

▪ 1995

      Russian physician (b. Nov. 26, 1937, Moscow, U.S.S.R.—d. Sept. 12, 1994, Moscow, Russia), participated in the first spaceflight with more than one crew member and was the first practicing physician to soar into space. His flight was also the first in which the cosmonauts did not wear space suits. Yegorov graduated (1961) from the First Moscow Medical Institute, where he specialized in aviation and space medicine. He then worked in medical research institutions, studying medical telemetry data from Soviet missions, before beginning (1964) training for his flight. On Oct. 12-13, 1964—crowded with two other cosmonauts aboard Voskhod 1, a craft designed for one—Yegorov performed a number of tests on himself and the others during their 16 orbits. The information gained on the effects of radiation, confinement, and weightlessness helped scientists make advances in human adaptation to long journeys in space. After his flight, he earned (1965) a doctor of medicine degree from Humboldt University in East Berlin and went on to serve as head of several medical research institutions. Yegorov received a number of his country's highest awards, including the Order of Lenin.

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▪ Soviet physician

born Nov. 26, 1937, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.

died Sept. 12, 1994, Moscow

      Soviet physician who, with cosmonauts Vladimir M. Komarov (Komarov, Vladimir Mikhaylovich) and Konstantin P. Feoktistov (Feoktistov, Konstantin Petrovich), was a participant in the first multimanned spaceflight, that of Voskhod (“Sunrise”) 1, on Oct. 12–13, 1964, and was also the first practicing physician in space. (space exploration)

      Upon graduating in 1961 from the First Medical Institute, Moscow, Yegorov joined the team of physicians who studied medical telemetry data from Soviet spaceflights. An expert on the sense-of-balance mechanism in the inner ear, he began training for the Voskhod 1 flight during the summer of 1964. During the flight (which, with an apogee of 254 miles [409 km], was then the highest attained by a manned capsule), Yegorov tested the effects of radiation, confinement, weightlessness, and various other conditions of spaceflight on himself and the other cosmonauts. The flight was the first undertaken in woolen clothes rather than the usual space suits. It was suggested at the time that a longer flight had been planned, which was why a doctor was included. Yegorov was not a trained long-term professional cosmonaut and returned to medical practice. The medical information gained from the Voskhod 1 flight and subsequent research enabled Soviet scientists to make advances in adapting humans to long spaceflights.

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