Nikolayev’s nights in space

The second half of the 20th Century saw humans set out to space for the first time. Pilots Vostok 3 After serving as Titov’s backup during the Vostok 2 voyage, Nikolayev got his turn as the pilot of the Vostok 3 spacecraft and on August 11, 1962, he headed to space for the first time. When cosmonaut Pavel Popovich, aboard the Vostok 4 that was launched a day later, also reached space, two manned crafts were in space simultaneously for the first time. Nikolayev’s next space trip was as the commander of the Soyuz 9, during its attempt to break the space endurance record in 1970. *** Marriage made in space Months after Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, returned from her Vostok 6 spaceflight in June 1963, Nikolayev and Tereshkova got married.