Soyuz 5

Soyuz 5 launched on January 15, 1969 as the second spacecraft in the Soyuz 4 / Soyuz 5 joint mission. Boris Volynov commanded the spacecraft with Aleksei Yeliseyev as flight engineer and Yevgeny Khrunov as research engineer. After rendezvous with Soyuz 4, the two spacecraft docked mechanically and electrically, but without an internal passage. Yeliseyev and Khrunov transferred from Soyuz 5 to Soyuz 4 through open space in Yastreb suits, while Volynov remained aboard Soyuz 5. Spacefacts records the EVA window as 53 minutes and notes that both transferring cosmonauts landed on Soyuz 4 the following day. Volynov undocked and returned alone on January 18. His reentry became one of the most dangerous survivals in early human spaceflight after the service module failed to separate promptly, causing a nose-first entry until the connecting bolts burned through and the descent module turned heat-shield-forward. The parachute landing was also unusually hard, injuring Volynov but returning him alive.