Volynov, Boris Valentinovich

Born Dec. 18, 1934, in Irkutsk. A pilot and cosmonaut of the USSR; colonel. Hero of the Soviet Union (Jan. 22, 1969). Member of the CPSU since 1958.

Upon graduating from the Volgograd Military Aviation School in 1956, he served in air force units. In 1968 he graduated from the Military Aviation Engineering Academy in Moscow. He has been a cosmonaut since 1960. On Jan. 15-18, 1969, he flew a space mission as commander of the spaceship Soiuz 5 with A. S. Eliseev and E. V. Khrunov. With the commander of the spaceship Soiuz 4, V. A. Shatalov, Volynov completed an experiment in the approach and docking of Soiuz 4 and Soiuz 5, enabling cosmonauts Eliseev and Khrunov to cross through open space into Soiuz 4. Volynov remained in space 72 hr 46 min and flew 2 million km, completing 50 orbits around the earth. He has been awarded the Order of Lenin.