Soviet Russian cosmonaut Pavel Belyaev signed black and white German postcard (4" x 6.1/2") with the portrait of cosmonaut in military uniform and attached Soviet stamp dedicated to Voskhod-2 flight.

Pavel Ivanovich Belyayev (1925 – 1970), was a Soviet fighter pilot with extensive experience in piloting different types of aircraft. He was the first commander of the cosmonaut corps and the cosmonaut who commanded the historic Voskhod 2 mission which saw the first man walk in space in 1965.

Voskhod 2 launched with Belyayev and Leonov on board on 18 March 1965. Belyayev's call sign was Diamond and his designation as mission commander was 1. After Leonov successfully performed the first spacewalk, Belyayev prepared to return to Earth. Belyayev had to perform a manual reentry when the automatic reentry system failed. This required Belyayev to use the equipped Vzor navigation device to orient the capsule. Due to the cramped conditions inside the capsule and its poor design, Belyayev had to lie across the seats to use the Vzor while Leonov held him in place. Belyayev asked Leonov to check the craft's attitude, a move which caused the craft to overshoot its intended landing area by approximately 2,000 km because of the extra time this took Upon landing Belyayev had to force open the hatch after the explosive bolts failed to open it. Belyayev then had to pull Leonov, whose legs had become jammed under the TV screen console, out of the capsule. After spending a night back inside the capsule in extremely cold conditions, the crew were met by an advance rescue party the following morning. It took another day to clear a spot in the forest for a rescue helicopter to land 9 km from the landing site.

After the success of the mission Belyayev and Leonov were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union medal, given 15,000 rubles, a Volga car and 45 days leave.

This is rare signed black and white postcard, printed in German Democratic Republic.

The postcard in a good condition.

Authenticity guaranteed. Will provide the letter of authenticity for this autograph.

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