"Stop SPAM" wrote in message
...

Do you have a cite for the article, please?


No, I don't. It was a few years ago and I don't remember the source.

As I recall, there was an Italian physician who was a space buff and
monitored satellite transmissions. He claimed he heard a human heartbeat
aboard. The story had it that the Russians had a problem bringing the craft
down at the appointed time, and when they corrected the problem it was out
of position for a landing in the USSR. Before it was again in a suitable
position the cosmonaut died. This was supposedly the first man in space.

The second flight was flown by the son of a famous Russian aero designer, I
do not recall which. More problems in the return from orbit left him very
severely injured.

Then came Yuri Gagarin, his flight went according to plan and it was
announced as the first human spaceflight afterward.

I'm not saying it happened this way, of course, but it is plausible. After
all, the Russians didn't announce their flights beforehand, and there's no
reason to keep them secret if you intend to announce your failures anyway.