As Bondarenko had already appeared in publicly available photographs , the deletions led to rumours of cosmonauts dying in failed launches .
After cosmonaut Valentin Bondarenko died in a training accident in 1961 , the Soviet government airbrushed him out of photographs of the first group of cosmonauts .
As cosmonaut had already appeared in publicly available photographs , the deletions led to rumours of cosmonauts dying in failed launches .
After cosmonaut Valentin Bondarenko died in a training accident in 1961 , the Soviet government airbrushed him out of photographs of the first group of cosmonauts .