A used tube of space food with the autograph of cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolaev

Andriyan Nikolaev, in 1961 became the understudy of German Titov, and in August 1962 he flew on Vostok-3, becoming the third cosmonaut of the USSR and the fifth man in space. During the flight, world records were set for duration and range. Also, for the first time, an astronaut got rid of the chair and hovered in the cockpit without a spacesuit. It was a risky operation: in order to return back, Nikolayev needed to be in a chair.

After the first flight, he connected his life with the work of the cosmonaut squad. In 1964, Nikolaev was appointed commander of a detachment of Soviet cosmonauts.

In 1963, he married Valentina Tereshkova. Secretary General Nikita Khrushchev was the toastmaster at the wedding.