Brain Tumor Caused Cosmonaut’s Death, Tass Discloses
Tass press agency disclosed today that cosmonaut Alexander Levchenko died of a brain tumor and confirmed that he had been in line to fly the Soviet space shuttle.
The official news agency said the death of the 47-year-old test pilot was not connected with a seven-day spaceflight he made last December. Doctors operated on him after discovering the tumor but were unable to save his life, Tass said.
The agency first reported Levchenko’s death Tuesday but did not elaborate on the cause of death or mention his involvement in the shuttle program.
“In recent times he participated in research of space technics and could have become a crew member of a future Soviet reusable spaceship,” Tass said today.
Other obituaries carried by the Soviet media said only that Levchenko died Saturday of a “grave illness.”
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