383. SOYUZ 9 FLOWN COSMONAUT'S FLIGHT GUIDE - ANDRIAN NIKOLAYEV (b. 1929) Russian cosmonaut who flew on Vostok 3 and became the third Russian in space. Exceptionally rare cosmonaut's flight guide, flown with Nikolayev aboard the historic flight of Soyuz 3. The bound guide, approx. 100pp. oblong 8vo., bears crucial in-flight information, including burn-times, procedure check list, and so on, with dozens of pencil entries made by Nikolayev during the flight. The light blue covers bear gilt text naming the mission and including the seal of the USSR. The first page bears a later, very bold black ink signature by Nikolayev. Sold with a second such flight text marked "Soyuz -A", five chapters, 100pp. oblong 8vo., possibly a 1969 training manual which likely also flew with Nikolayev and similarly bears his signature on the first page. Two pieces, fine condition. Soyuz 9 was a most important mission, launched on June 1, 1970 and remaining in orbit for over 17 days. The flight was an endurance test, with medico-biological, scientific and technical studies and experiments in prolonged orbital flight. Inconclusive results were due to the slow sun-oriented rotation of the spacecraft to conserve fuel but which resulted in motion sickness in the cosmonauts. $1,500-2,000