Key Takeaways:
- Yevgeny Khrunov, born September 10, 1933, was selected as one of the first Soviet cosmonauts in February 1960.
- He participated in the Soyuz 4/Soyuz 5 mission in January 1969, which involved the first docking of two crewed spacecraft.
- During the Soyuz 4/Soyuz 5 mission, Khrunov and Aleksei Yeliseyev executed the first extravehicular activity (EVA) transfer between two spacecraft.
- Following his single spaceflight, Khrunov pursued a career in foreign economic relations and passed away in 2000 at the age of 67.
Yevgeny Khrunov was born Sept. 10, 1933, in Prudy, Russia. A Soviet Air Force pilot, he was selected as one of the first cosmonauts on Feb. 25, 1960, along with 19 others including Yuri Gagarin, Aleksei Leonov, and Andriyan Nikolayev. Though not part of the Vanguard Six, Khrunov would make history on the Soyuz 4/Soyuz 5 mission in January 1969. After maneuvering into a coordinated orbit, Soyuz 5 docked with Soyuz 4, and Khrunov and crewmate Aleksei Yeliseyev performed a one-hour spacewalk to transfer from one craft to the other. It was the first docking of two crewed spacecraft, as well as the first EVA transfer of crew between those vehicles. One of the only original cosmonauts to perform just one spaceflight, Khrunov worked in foreign economic relations after leaving the space program, and died in 2000 at age 67.
