Viktor Patsayev

{{Short description|Soviet cosmonaut (1933–1971)}}

{{family name hatnote|Ivanovich|Patsayev|lang=Eastern Slavic}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}

{{expand Russian|topic=bio|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox astronaut

| birth_name = Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev

| native_name = {{nobold|Виктор Пацаев}}

| image = Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev.jpg

| image_size =

| caption =

| type = Cosmonaut

| nationality = Soviet

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1933|6|19}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1971|6|30|1933|6|19}}

| birth_place = Aktyubinsk, Kazakh ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union

| death_place = Soyuz 11, Outer space

| occupation = Engineer

| selection = 1968 USSR Civilian Specialist Group 3

| time = 23d 18h 21m

| mission = Soyuz 11

| insignia =

| awards = Hero of the Soviet Union

|resting_place=Kremlin Wall Necropolis}}

Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev ({{langx|ru|Виктор Иванович Пацаев}}; 19 June 1933{{spaced ndash}}30 June 1971){{cite web | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/446790/Viktor-Ivanovich-Patsayev | title=Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev | publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica | access-date=23 March 2014}} was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 11 mission and was part of the third space crew to die during a space flight. On board the space station Salyut 1 he operated the Orion 1 Space Observatory (see Orion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories); he became the first man to operate a telescope outside the Earth's atmosphere.

After a normal re-entry, the capsule was opened and the crew was found dead.{{cite web | url=https://science.time.com/2013/02/01/nasas-astronaut-day-of-remembrance/slide/soyuz-11-georgi-dobrovolski/ | title=Soyuz 11: Georgi Dobrovolski, Victor Patsayev, Vladislav Volkov | publisher=Time magazine | date=31 January 2013 | access-date=23 March 2014 | author=Kluger, Jeffrey}} It was discovered that a valve had opened just prior to leaving orbit that had allowed the capsule's atmosphere to vent away into space, suffocating the crew.{{cite web | url=http://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/2013/04/28/crew-home-misfortunes-soyuz-11/ | title=The Crew That Never Came Home: The Misfortunes of Soyuz 11 | publisher=Space Safety Magazine | date=28 April 2013 | access-date=27 March 2014}} One of Patsayev's hands was found to be bruised, and he may have been trying to shut the valve manually at the time he lost consciousness.

Patsayev's ashes were interred in the Kremlin Wall on Red Square in Moscow.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbDGMiXvdG0C&pg=PA351 | title=Salyut – The First Space Station: Triumph and Tragedy | publisher=Springer | author=Ivanovich, Grujica S. | year=2008 | pages=351| isbn=9780387739731 }} He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin and the title of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR. The lunar crater Patsaev and the minor planet 1791 Patsayev are named for him.{{cite web | url=http://www.astronautix.com/astros/patsayev.htm#more | title=Patsayev | publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica | access-date=23 March 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715023107/http://www.astronautix.com/astros/patsayev.htm#more | archive-date=15 July 2014 | df=dmy-all }}