PersonJewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Boris Volynov

Soviet cosmonaut, commander of Soyuz 5 and veteran of Soyuz 21/Salyut 5.

Russia

Council.gov.ru / Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY 4.0

Biography

Boris Volynov is a Soviet cosmonaut from the first generation of the USSR’s human-spaceflight program. He was selected for cosmonaut training in the early 1960s and later flew two crewed Soyuz missions. Volynov commanded Soyuz 5 in January 1969, a mission remembered for the first docking of two crewed spacecraft and for his exceptionally dangerous return to Earth after a re-entry malfunction. He returned to space in 1976 as commander of Soyuz 21 and spent time aboard the Salyut 5 space station. His long career made him an important figure in early Soviet orbital operations and space-station development. Contemporary Jewish reporting and later biographical sources identify Volynov as Jewish through his mother, which is the basis for his eligibility in JWR’s Jewish achievement chronology.

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Records held by Boris Volynov

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Space / Human Spaceflight / CommandFirst

First Jewish Person to Command a Crewed Space Mission

Record holder

Boris Volynov

Record value

15 January 1969

When Soyuz 5 launched on 15 January 1969, Boris Volynov was its commander. The mission participated in the first docking of two crewed spacecraft and a crew transfer between them, while Volynov remained aboard Soyuz 5 for a famously difficult return to Earth. Contemporary Jewish reporting identified him as Jewish through his mother and explicitly described him as the Soyuz 5 commander. Because the same chronology establishes Volynov as the first Jewish person to reach space, the command claim has a particularly strong logical boundary: no earlier Jewish space traveler existed who could have commanded a crewed mission. JWR therefore recognizes Volynov as the first Jewish person to command a crewed space mission.

Country represented: Soviet Union
Achievement location: Soviet Union
Achievement date: 15 January 1969

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Boris Volynov, Soviet cosmonaut and first Jewish person in space

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Space · Human SpaceflightFirst

First Jewish Person in Space

Record holder

Boris Volynov

Record value

15 January 1969

Boris Volynov became the first Jewish person to travel into outer space on 15 January 1969. He achieved this as commander of an orbital human spaceflight aboard the Soviet Union's Soyuz 5 mission, which lasted until 18 January 1969. NASA's historical human-spaceflight tables confirm the Soyuz 5 launch date and list Boris V. Volynov as a member of the crew.

Country represented: Soviet Union
Achievement location: Soviet Union
Achievement date: 15 January 1969

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Portrait of Soviet cosmonaut Boris Volynov in 1963

JWR VerifiedFounding Record

Space · Space StationsFirst

First Jewish Person to Live Aboard a Space Station

Record holder

Boris Volynov

Record value

7 July 1976

Boris Volynov of the Soviet Union became the first Jewish person to reside aboard an operational crewed space station on 7 July 1976. As commander of the Soyuz 21 mission, he docked with the Salyut 5 station and commenced his residence on that date. NASA’s historical Salyut mission account and other spaceflight chronologies record the docking and a total mission duration of 49 days in space. Volynov’s time aboard the station concluded with the mission’s undocking and landing on 24 August 1976.

Country represented: Soviet Union
Achievement location: Soviet Union
Achievement date: 7 July 1976

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