Launch:
    Location: Baikonur, Site 1/5
    Rocket: Soyuz
    Date: 25 October 1968
    Time: 09:00 UTC

Landing:
    Date: 28 October 1968
    Time: 07:51 UTC

Duration: 2 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes

Soyuz 2 was intended to dock with Soyuz 3, but while there was a very close approach, there was no docking.

Original Intent of Soyuz 2

Crew:
    Upload:
        Valeri Bykovsky, Commander
        Yevgeni Khrunov, Flight Engineer
        Aleksei Yeliseyev, Flight Engineer
    Download:
        Valeri Bykovsky

Backup Crew:
    Andrian Nikolayev
    (for Bykvosky)
    Viktor Gorbatko
    (for Khrunov)
    Valeri Kubasov
    (for Yeliseyev)

Launch:
    Date: 24 April 1967 (day after Soyuz 1)

The plan was for Soyuz 2 to launch the day after Soyuz 1 and for Khrunov and Yeliseyev to transfer to Soyuz 1 for the return. When Soyuz 1 had problems with deployment of a solar array, the initial idea was for Khrunov and Yeliseyev to performan EVA to correct the issue. A thunderstorm on 24 April caused the launch to be delayed a day. By that time, Soyuz 1 had enough issues and the decision was made to return Soyuz 1, thus cancelling the Soyuz 2 launch.

Later ivestigation revealed that Soyuz 2 had the same parachute issues as Soyuz 1, and had it launched, all three of its crew would also have been killed.

Page last modified: 16 May 2026 21:50:17.