The Cosmonaut Cover Up

Originally aired by UK Horizons, this documentary follows the Soviet Union's effort to bury a failed mission during the infamous space races. Though most historians will claim Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, The Cosmonaut Cover-Up reveals that it was actually Colonel Vladimir Illysushin who first broke the earth's atmosphere and orbited the planet. Unfortunately for him, as well as for Cold War propaganda, he crash-landed in China and sustained severe injuries. The Soviet Union destroyed all evidence of the mission. However, after a five-year investigation into recently declassified files, this documentary, now in video, attempts to give Illyushin his place in history.