HISTORIC 1964 VOSKHOD 1 SPACEFLIGHT ARCHIVAL REPORT

Cosmonaut Konstantin Feoktistov’s Official De-Briefing to the State Commission

Directly from the Personal Archival Files of Lieutenant General Nikolai P. Kamanin

Offered is an extraordinary, highly important primary research document from the genesis of human spaceflight: an original 1964 typed transcript recording Cosmonaut-Scientist Konstantin Feoktistov’s direct testimony to the Soviet State Commission on October 14, 1964, immediately following the recovery of Voskhod 1—the world’s first multi-person space mission.

Lot Highlights & Specifications:

Original Manuscript Page (pp. 44–45): Transcribed directly from magnetic tape recordings of the secret State Commission session on October 14, 1964, two days after launch.

Official Military Certification: Features an authentic contemporary handwritten certification at the bottom:"Certified true copy: Major General of Aviation [Goryainov]" with official signature.

Annotated Personal File Folder: Housed inside Feoktistov’s original paper cover folder featuring his handwritten name in blue ink across the front cover: “К. П. Феоктистов” (K. P. Feoktistov).

Historical & Medical Significance:

This lot contains landmark first-person testimony on Space Adaptation Syndrome (SAS) and vestibular disorientation in microgravity. Feoktistov describes experiencing a constant, disorienting sensation of flying "upside down" due to unanchored head positioning in the cramped Voskhod capsule—one of the earliest documented medical accounts of sensory illusion in orbit.

Historians note that Feoktistov’s candid admission of physical disorientation before the State Commission likely contributed to high-level medical resistance that restricted his future spaceflight assignments.

Condition:

Authentic 1960s archival paper. Shows light handling wear, corner creasing, and minor dampstaining along edges consistent with official Soviet administrative file storage. Manuscript markings and typewriting remain crisp, clear, and fully legible.

Full English Translation of the Document

Header Handwritten Inscriptions:

[Handwritten top right in blue ink]

Speech of Comrade Feoktistov K.P. at the session of the State Commission, 14.10.1964. Recorded from magnetic tape.

[Handwritten left margin in pencil]

32

Typed Text Body:

"General impression during the orbital flight. Conditions are, on the whole, unnatural for the human organism. I can speak for myself (I think that my comrades experienced the same)—a bit out of sorts! What can this be compared to, to clarify what it is? The comparison that occurred to me: it is roughly the same as flying for twenty-four hours straight in an airplane, where there is rattling and noise all around, as in a modern but not very well-appointed aircraft, with a typical airplane smell—also, on the whole, an unnatural environment for a person. But it contains no elements that interfere with work. One can get used to this environment, train for it, and work long and successfully; it is normal, and there is nothing frightening about it. This unusualness is connected to weightlessness and to the false signals that reach the brain due to weightlessness. What are these false signals? About myself I can say: I had a constant sensation the entire time that I was upside down. I simply could not understand what was going on. I asked my comrades—they had no such sensation. By the end of the flight I finally realized that they were sitting cramped, constantly bracing their heads against the ceiling—their heads were fixed in place. My head, however, was free. Therefore, when you stop consciously monitoring yourself, the head tilts upward due to centrifugal forces. Later I adapted—I sat up higher so my head touched the ceiling. While absorbed in work, you do not notice this discomfort. Apparently, these false signals can be suppressed by purely medical means."

Footer Handwritten Inscriptions & Official Certification:

[Handwritten center bottom in blue ink]

pp. 44–45 from the report of Komarov's crew to the State Commission / 21.10.64.

[Handwritten bottom left in oval stamp/bracket]

Certified true copy: Major General of Aviation [D. Goryainov] (Signature)