Kartashov Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married. Born in Pervoy Sadovoye, Russia. Cancer Soviet Air Force Graduated from Higher Air Force School, 1954 Colonel, Soviet Air Force Pilot, Soviet Air Force

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: Air Force Group 1 - 1960. Deceased Entered space service: 17 June 1960. Left space service: 7 April 1961. Cosmonaut training April 1960 - 1961. Left team after being overstressed in centrifuge training, 7 April 1961.

Serve again as pilot of Soviet Air Force until retirement as a Colonel in 1985. Thereafter worked as a test pilot for Antonov in Kiev.

25 February 1960 - Soviet Air Force Cosmonaut Training Group 1 selected.. The group was selected to provide pilot astronauts for the Vostok manned spaceflight program.. Qualifications: Military jet aircraft pilots under 30 years of age; under 170 cm tall; under 70 kg in weight.. While the Americans sought mature test pilots for their first spaceflights, the Soviets recruited young pilots with the intent of training them for a career as spacemen. There were 3,000 applicants following interviews with medical doctor teams that toured Soviet air bases beginning in August 1959. 102 were called for physical and psychological tests. 8 of these were selected, but then Chief Designer Korolev said he wanted a pool three times larger than the American Mercury cadre. Of the 20 selected, 12 would fly in space. Of the 8 that did not, 1 died in a ground fire in training; 3 were dismissed for disciplinary reasons; and 4 left following injuries in training.