The honorary title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR (Russian: Летчик-космонавт СССР) was a state award of the Soviet Union presented to all cosmonauts who flew for the Soviet Space Agency. Usually accompanying the distinction was the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest title that could be awarded to a Soviet citizen for performing heroic deeds while in service of the state.
History of the title The title was established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 14 April 1961. It was awarded until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 where it was retained by the Law of the Russian Federation 2555-1 dated 20 March 1992 with a few slight amendments and renamed Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation.
Award statute The title was assigned by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet for the outstanding feat of space flight. The insignia of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR is worn on the right side of the chest above orders and decorations. If worn with honorary titles of the Russian Federation, the latter have precedence.
Award description The title is a 25mm wide by 23.8mm high convex pentagon with a gilt silver rim. In the center is an image of the terrestrial globe with the territory of the Soviet Union enamelled in red. A gold star denotes Moscow as the point of origin of a gilt orbital path going around the globe once to reach a silver satellite at the upper left of the globe. A second orbital path, this time enamelled in red, starts at the bottom center of the globe going up in an arc narrowing along the way to reach a gilt spacecraft above the globe. Along the upper left edge of the pentagon above the globe, the gilt relief inscription "PILOT" (Russian: ЛЕТЧИК), along the upper right edge of the pentagon above the globe, the gilt relief inscription "COSMONAUT" (Russian: КОСМОНАВТ), along the bottom edge of the pentagon under the globe, the gilt inscription "USSR" (Russian: СССР), along the left and right lower edges of the pentagon, prominent gilt laurel branches. The reverse of the insignia is plain except for the award serial number. The insignia is secured to a standard Russian square mount by a ring through the suspension loop. The award is secured to clothing with a threaded stud and nut behind the mount. The mount is covered by a silk moiré red ribbon.
List of Pilot-Cosmonauts of the USSR The individuals listed below have all received the honorary title "Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR". List is sorted by the serial number of the award.
1961 — Yuri Gagarin 1961 — Gherman Titov 1962 — Andriyan Nikolayev 1962 — Pavel Popovich 1963 — Valery Bykovsky 1963 — Valentina Tereshkova 1964 — Vladimir Komarov 1964 — Konstantin Feoktistov 1964 — Boris Yegorov 1965 — Pavel Belyayev 1965 — Alexei Leonov 1968 — Georgy Beregovoy 1969 — Vladimir Shatalov 1969 — Boris Volynov 1969 — Aleksei Yeliseyev 1969 — Yevgeny Khrunov 1969 — Georgy Shonin 1969 — Valeri Kubasov 1969 — Anatoly Filipchenko 1969 — Vladislav Volkov 1969 — Viktor Gorbatko 1970 — Vitaly Sevastyanov 1971 — Nikolay Rukavishnikov 1971 — Georgy Dobrovolsky (posthumously) 1971 — Viktor Patsayev (posthumously) 1973 — Vasily Lazarev 1973 — Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov 1973 — Pyotr Klimuk 1973 — Valentin Lebedev 1974 — Yury Artyukhin 1974 — Gennadi Sarafanov 1974 — Lev Dyomin 1975 — Aleksei Gubarev 1975 — Georgy Grechko 1976 — Vitaly Zholobov 1976 — Vladimir Aksyonov 1976 — Vyacheslav Zudov 1976 — Valery Rozhdestvensky 1977 — Yury Glazkov 1977 — Vladimir Kovalyonok 1977 — Valery Ryumin 1978 — Yury Romanenko 1978 — Vladimir Dzhanibekov 1978 — Aleksandr Ivanchenkov 1979 — Vladimir Lyakhov 1980 — Yury Malyshev 1980 — Leonid Popov 1980 — Leonid Kizim 1980 — Gennadi Strekalov 1981 — Viktor Savinykh 1982 — Aleksandr Serebrov 1982 — Svetlana Savitskaya 1982 — Anatoly Berezovoy 1983 — Vladimir Titov 1983 — Aleksandr Pavlovich Aleksandrov 1984 — Igor Volk 1984 — Vladimir Solovyov 1984 — Oleg Atkov 1985 — Vladimir Vasyutin 1985 — Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov 1987 — Aleksandr Viktorenko 1987 — Aleksandr Laveykin 1987 — Anatoli Levchenko 1988 — Anatoly Solovyev 1988 — Musa Manarov 1989 — Sergei Krikalev 1989 — Valeri Polyakov 1990 — Aleksandr Nikolayevich Balandin 1991 — Gennadi Manakov 1991 — Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasyev 1991 — Anatoly Artsebarsky 1991 — Toktar Aubakirov
See also
Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation Orders, decorations, and medals of the Soviet Union Badges and Decorations of the Soviet Union Soviet Air Force Soviet Space Agency Baikonur Cosmodrome
References
External links Legal Library of the USSR