Igor Petrovich Volk (, ; 12 April 1937 – 3 January 2017) was a Russian

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

and former Soviet

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

in the

Buran programme The ''Buran'' programme (, , "Snowstorm", "Blizzard"), also known as the "VKK Space Orbiter programme" (), was a Soviet and later Russian reusable spacecraft project that began in 1974 at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in Moscow and w ...

Military and test pilot

Volk became a pilot in the

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

in 1956. After graduation from the

Fedotov Test Pilot School The Fedotov Test Pilot School or FTPS ('' or '') is one of two test pilot schools in Russia (the other one is a military test pilot school in Akhtubinsk). The school was established in 1947 when Russia was part of the USSR and is named after Al ...

in 1965, he has joined the

Gromov Flight Research Institute The Gromov Flight Research Institute or GFRI for short (, ) is an important Russian State Research Centre which operates an aircraft test base located in Zhukovsky, 40 km south-east of Moscow. The airfield is also known as Ramenskoye air ...

. He logged over 7000 flight hours in over 80 different aircraft types. Over the years, he flew on all types of Soviet fighters, bombers, and transport aircraft. He showed outstanding abilities in complex tests of various airplanes at critical angles of attack, stall, and spin. He was the first who tested aircraft behavior at high super-critical angles of attack (around 90°) and performed aerobatics such as the "

cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

" maneuver.

Space program

Igor Volk was selected as a cosmonaut on 12 July 1977 and subsequently assigned to the

. As part of his preparations for a

space shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

flight, he also accomplished test-flights with Buran's counterpart

OK-GLI The OK-GLI (), also known as Buran Analog BTS-02 (), was a Soviet Union, Soviet atmospheric Flight test, test vehicle ("Buran aerodynamic analogue") of the orbital spaceflight, orbital Buran (spacecraft), Buran spacecraft. It was constructed fo ...

aircraft. In July 1984, Volk flew aboard

Soyuz T-12 Soyuz T-12 (also known as Salyut 7 EP-4) was the seventh crewed spaceflight to the Soviet space station Salyut 7. The name "Soyuz T-12" is also the name of the spacecraft used to launch and land the mission's three-person crew. The mission occurr ...

, intended to give him some experience in space. With Volks's participation as research cosmonaut on the 7th expedition to

Salyut 7 Salyut 7 (), also known as DOS-6 (Durable Orbital Station 6) was a space station in low Earth orbit from April 1982 to February 1991. It was first crewed in May 1982 with two crew via Soyuz T-5, and last visited in June 1986, by Soyuz T-15. Va ...

, one goal of the mission was to evaluate the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a pilot's skills and ability to fly and land an aeroplane safely (in order to prove Volk's ability to control Space Shuttle Buran atmospheric segment of flight). At the time of the Soyuz T-12 mission, the Buran program was still a state secret. The appearance of Volk as a crew member caused some, including the

British Interplanetary Society The British Interplanetary Society (BIS), founded in Liverpool in 1933 by Philip E. Cleator, is the oldest existing space advocacy organisation in the world. Its aim is exclusively to support and promote astronautics and space exploration. St ...

magazine ''

Spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly objects, usually spacecraft, into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such ...

'', to ask why a test pilot was occupying a Soyuz seat usually reserved for researchers or foreign cosmonauts. After his orbital flight, Volk served as the head of pilot-cosmonaut training department for the Buran program and later (after the project's cancellation) worked for the

as a Flight Tests Deputy Chief before retiring in 1996. He previously served as President of the National Aero Club of Russia and Vice President of the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

. As recognition for his contributions as a test pilot and cosmonaut he was awarded the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

on 29 July 1984.

Social work

*Member of the City Council of the city of Zhukovsky (1984-1987) *President of the All-Union Tennis Federation of the USSR (1986-1990) *President of the Federation of Aviation Fans (since 1988) *Member of the Executive Committee of the Green Movement (since 1989). An active supporter of the environmental movement in the USSR and Russia. *First Vice-President of the Federation of Cosmonautics of Russia (FKR), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the FKR (2003-2005) Since April 1990, Volk has been a member of the editorial board of the Wings of the Motherland magazine. He participated in the transcontinental flight Moscow -

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

- Moscow on a Yak-18T aircraft (November 12, 1991 - February 2, 1992). On 21 November 2013, he signed an open letter to the President criticizing the

United Aircraft Corporation The PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) () is a Russian Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense corporation. With a majority stake belonging to the Russian government, it consolidates Russian private and state-owned Russ ...

and its leader

Mikhail Pogosyan Mikhail Aslanovich Pogosyan (; born 18 April 1956 in Moscow, Russia) is a Russian Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer. He is the former general director of Sukhoi and the United Aircraft Corporation and the current rector of the Moscow Aviat ...

for curtailing the program for the production of the Tu-334 aircraft. Also, in this letter, the

Superjet The SuperJet is a stand-up type personal watercraft (PWC) made by Yamaha Motor Corporation. Part of Yamaha's WaveRunner line of watercraft, it was introduced in 1990 and has become one of the most successful stand-up personal watercraft ever mad ...

project is directly criticized. In May 2016, Volk supported the program of environmentalists in the elections and primaries of United Russia in the Moscow Oblast. He actively supported the environmental projects of the EkoGrad magazine.

Other accomplishments

Volk was an inventor. He also supported a number of startups like four-person

concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...

flying car A flying car or roadable aircraft is a type of vehicle which can function both as a road vehicle and as an aircraft. As used here, this includes vehicles which drive as motorcycles when on the road. The term "flying car" is also sometimes ...

, etc.

Personal life

Volk was married and had two children. He died on 3 January 2017 while on holiday in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. He is buried together with his daughter at the Bykovskoye Memorial Cemetery in Zhukovsky.

Honours and awards

Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR The honorary title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR () 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 hi ...

Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR The Honorary Title "Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR" () was a state award of the Soviet Union established on August 14, 1958, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet No. 2523-X to recognise courage and excellence of military and civilian t ...

* Zhukovsky

Honorary Citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

4th class *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" The Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation aimed at recognising achievements in the space program. It was established by Decree of the President of Russia, presidential decree №1099 of September ...

Memory

Vladimir Dzhanibekov opens the memorial bust of Igor Volk 2020

Bust of Igor Volk is installed at Solnechnaya Street in the city of Zhukovsky.

References

External links

Detailed biography of Igor Volk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volk, Igor 1937 births 2017 deaths People from Zmiiv Buran program Fedotov TPS alumni Gromov Flight Research Institute employees Moscow Aviation Institute alumni Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" Russian cosmonauts of Ukrainian descent Soviet Air Force officers Soviet cosmonauts Soviet test pilots