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| Vostok 5 launch cover with Donetsk postmark June 14, 1963. |
Vostok 5 was launched on June 14, 1963, piloted by
Valery Bykovsky. It was a joint mission of the Soviet space program together with
Vostok 6; as with the previous pair of
Vostok 3 and
Vostok 4 the two Vostok spacecraft came close to one another in orbit and established a radio link. Vostok 5 returned to Earth on June 19, 1963. Several delays plagued the prelaunch preparations of Vostok 5, the biggest being concern over elevated solar flare activity. At this early phase, it was not well understood what effects this might have on the spacecraft and its passenger, so the planned launch date of 11 June was postponed a few days.
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| Vostok 5 launch cover with Liepaja postmark June 14, 1963. |
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| Vostok 5 launch cover with Poltava postmark June 15, 1963. |
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| Vostok 5 launch cover with Kiev postmark June 15, 1963. Signed by Gherman Titov and Valery Bykovsky |
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| Vostok 5 cover with Valery Bykovsky portrait and stamp, Moscow special postmark. |
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| Valery Bykovsky post card. |
(Reference from
Vostok 5)
