1. Vasily Pavlovich Mishin was a Russian engineer in the former Soviet Union, and a prominent rocket pioneer, best remembered for the failures in the Soviet space program that took place under his management.
13 Facts About Vasily Mishin
1. 2.
Vasily Mishin was one of the first Soviet specialists to see Nazi Germany's V-2 facilities at the end of World War II, along with others such as Sergei Korolev, who preceded him as the OKB-1 design bureau head, and Valentin Glushko, who succeeded him.
3.
Vasily Mishin worked with Korolev as his deputy in the Experimental Design Bureau working on projects such as the development of the first Soviet ICBM as well in the Sputnik and Vostok programs.
4.
Vasily Mishin became head of Korolev's OKB-1 design bureau and was the Chief Designer after Korolev's death in 1966, during surgery to remove a tumor from Korolev's colon.
5.
Vasily Mishin inherited the N1 rocket program, intended to land a man on the Moon, but which turned out to be fatally flawed.
6.
Some failures Vasily Mishin faced during his leadership could have been avoided if further testing had been conducted at this stage.
7.
The launch was on 23 November 1972, with a Vasily Mishin approved flight plan to orbit the Moon forty-two times, with flight activities such as taking pictures of future landing sites, before returning to Earth on December 4.
8.
Vasily Mishin is often blamed for the failure of the program to put a man on the Moon, and faced criticisms for his alcohol consumption.
9.
On 15 May 1974, while he was in the hospital, Vasily Mishin was replaced by a rival, Chief Engine Designer Valentin Glushko, after all four N1 test launches failed.
10.
Vasily Mishin continued his educational and research works as the head of rocket department of Moscow Aviation Institute.
11.
Vasily Mishin was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labour for his work with the Soviet space program in 1956.
12.
Vasily Mishin died in Moscow on 10 October 2001 at the age of 84.
13.
Vasily Mishin's diaries, containing information on the program from 1960 to 1974, were purchased by the Perot Foundation in 1993.