Andriyan Nikolayev

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Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev

Cosmonaut
Nationality	Soviet
Born	September 5, 1929 Shorshely, Chuvashia
Died	July 3, 2004 Cheboksary, Chuvashia
Other occupation	Pilot
Rank	Major General, Soviet Air Force
Space time	21d 15h 20m
Selection	Air Force Group 1
Missions	Vostok 3, Soyuz 9
Mission insignia

Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev (Chuvash and Russian: Андриян Григорьевич Николаев), (September 5, 1929–July 3, 2004) was a Soviet cosmonaut of Chuvash descent.

Nikolayev flew on two space flights: Vostok 3 (effectively becoming the third Soviet cosmonaut) and Soyuz 9. His call sign in these flights was Falcon (Russian: Со́кол). On both, he set new endurance records for the longest time a human being had remained in orbit. He also served as backup for the Vostok 2 and Soyuz 8 missions. On January 22, 1969, Nikolayev survived an assassination attempt on Leonid Brezhnev, undertaken by Soviet Army officer Viktor Ilyin. He left the cosmonaut corps on January 26, 1982.

Nikolayev was also the first person to make a television broadcast from space, in August 1962. Vostok 3 was part the first dual space flight, with Pavel Popovich on Vostok 4.

In the early days of space travel, it was usual to place trainee astronauts into isolation chambers to see how long they could last alone. They sat in silence unable to gauge time. Many men cracked. One cosmonaut, Andriyan Nikolayev lasted the longest - four days - and became known as the Iron Man.

On November 3, 1963, he married Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to fly in space (see Vostok 6). They had one daughter, Elena Andriyanovna (now a Doctor of Medicine), before their marriage collapsed. However, it was not until 1982 that they divorced.

Andriyan Nikolayev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (twice), Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Star, numerous medals, and foreign orders. He was also bestowed a title of the Hero of Socialist Labor of Bulgaria, Hero of Labor of Vietnam, and Hero of Mongolia. A lunar crater was given his name, Nikolayev.

In 2004, Nikolayev died of a heart attack in Cheboksary, the capital of Chuvashia in Russia. A scandal ensued. His daughter, who lives in Moscow, desired that he be interred in the cemetery at Star City. The president of Chuvashia had other ideas. After a farewell ceremony in Cheboksary, Nikolayev was buried in his native village of Shorshely. He has no family living in the republic. Plans are in the works to move the body to Star City.