The key facts

  • Anatoly Koreshkov died on November 1 at the age of 95
  • He took part in preparing the 1957 satellite launch, Gagarin's flight, the lunar programs and Apollo-Soyuz
  • The farewell ceremony will take place on November 3 in Vladimir

Baikonur veteran Anatoly Koreshkov has died

On November 1, Anatoly Koreshkov died at the age of 95 — an engineer, poet and prose writer who took part in preparing the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite and Yuri Gagarin's historic flight. His death was reported by the Ministry of Culture of the Vladimir Region, Life.ru writes.

More than two decades in the space industry

Koreshkov devoted more than twenty years to the space industry. According to the publication, he took part in preparing the launch of the first satellite in 1957, Gagarin's flight in 1961, three lunar programs and the international Apollo-Soyuz project; over the course of his work he received ten inventor's certificates. He was born on March 8, 1931, in Teykovo, Ivanovo Region, and studied at an energy institute, but in 1951 he was transferred to the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy, after graduating from which he was assigned to Baikonur. There he rose from test engineer to head of the laboratory of radio-technical complexes for spacecraft.

The Vladimir period and legacy

In 1977, Koreshkov moved to Vladimir and worked as a shift supervisor at the local CHPP-1, and then turned to literature: in 1998 he joined the Union of Writers of Russia and wrote more than ten books, including 'Dawns of Baikonur,' 'The Pioneers,' 'Star Hour,' and 'Behind the Wall of Secrecy.' For his contribution to the history of cosmonautics he was made an honorary citizen of Baikonur and wrote the text of the city's anthem; he also worked actively with young people and was a member of cosmodrome veterans' associations. The farewell ceremony will take place on November 3: at noon there will be a funeral service at the church of the Knyaz-Vladimir cemetery, after which the deceased will be taken to the Ulybyshevo cemetery.

Context

This is already the second known loss in recent months among veterans of the Soviet space program: as Life.ru previously reported, in September 2026 Vladimir Bugrov died at the age of 93 — one of the leading designers of the Energia-Buran complex, who took part in the development of Soviet lunar and interplanetary spacecraft and underwent training for space flights.